BLVM 
ENTH 
B  ALB 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

•LOS  ANGELES 


AUG  2  7  1991 


ENGINEERING  & 

MATHEMATICAL 

SCIENCES  LIBRARY 


FENCES,    GATES 


BRIDGES. 


A   PRACTICAL    MANUAL. 


EDITED   BY 

GEORGE    A.    MARTIN. 


XZiX/0-STXB^.TXOaTS. 


NEW    YORK: 

ORANGE    JUDD    COMPANY, 
1892. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1887,  by  the 

O.   JUDD    CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


EMS 
LIB 

fft 


PREFATORY. 


It  is  authoritatively  stated  that  the  building  and  main- 
tenance of  the  farm  fences  in  the  United  States  have 
cost  more  than  the  construction  of  the  farm  buildings. 
Be.  this  as  it  may,  while  large  numbers  of  works  have . 
been  written  upon  rural  architecture  we  believe  this  is 
the  first  publication  specially  devoted  to  Fences,  Gates 
and  Bridges.  It  aims  to  be  a  practical  work,  showing 
the  "evolution"  of  the  fence  from  the  road  barrier 
of  logs,  brush  or  sods  to  the  latest  improved  forms  of 
barbed  wire.  The  numerous  illustrations  are  mainly 
representations  of  fences,  gates,  etc.,  in  actual  use. 
The  chapter  on  fence  law  is  necessarily  condensed. 
The  various  judicial  decisions  upon  the  subject  alone 
would  fill  a  large  volume. 

This  little  work,  the  first  and  only  one  of  its  char- 
acter, is  given  to  the  public  in  the  confident  hope  that 
it  will  prove  specially  useful  to  farmers  and  village 
residents. 


(3) 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Rail  and  other  Primitive  Fences 7-  17 

Virginia  Eail  Fence ;  Laying  a  Rail  Fence ;  Staking 
and  Wiring ;  A  Fence  of  Stakes  aud  Riders ;  A  Pole 
Fence  ;  Fences  for  Soil  Liable  to  Heave  ;  Other  Primi- 
tive Fences. 

CHAPTER  II. 
Stone  and  Sod  Fences - 18-23 

How  a  Stone  Wall  Should  be  Built ;  Building  a  Stone 
Fence  ;  Truck  for  Moving  Stones  ;  Re-inforcing  a  Stone 
WaU ;  A  Composite  Fence  ;  A  Prairie  Sod  Fence. 

CHAPTER  III. 

BoardFences - --- 24-  30 

Building  Board  Fences  ;  Fences  for  Land  Subject  to 
Overflow  ;  A  Fence-Board  Holder ;  Re-inforcing  a  Board 
Fence. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Picket  Fences -... 31-  42 

A  Good  Garden  Fence ;  A  Southern  Picket  Fence  ; 
Fences  of  Split  Pickets ;  Ornamental  Picket  Fences ; 
Rustic  Picket  Fences ;  Light  Picket  Fences ;  Hand- 
made Wire  and  Picket  Fences ;  Fence  of  Wire  and 
Pickets. 

CHAPTER  V. 
Barb-Wire  Fence  - 43-  61 

Statistics  and  Forms  of  Barb  Wire  ;  How  to  Set  Barb 
Wire  Fence ;  Unreeling  and  Stretching  Barb  Wire ; 
Wire  Stretchers ;  Building  Wire  Fence  on  Uneven 
Ground. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Fences  of  Barb  Wire  and  Boards 62-  67 

Combined  Wire  and  Board  Fence ;  A  Bracketed 
Fence ;  Dog-Proof  Fence. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Hedges 67-  75 

The  Best  Hedge  Plants  ;  Planting  and  Care  of  Osage 
Hedges ;  Hedges  for  the  South ;  Ornamental  Hedges 
and  Screens. 


VI  TABLi;    OF    i :(.)  MENTis. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Portable  Fences  and  Hurdles 


Portable  Board  Fences ;  Portable  Fences  of  Poles 
and  Wire :  Portable  Fences  for  Windbreaks,  Portable 
Poultry  Fences :  Portable  Folding  Fence  ;  Temporary 
Wire  and  Iron  Fences. 

CHAPTEB  IX. 
Fences  for  Streams  and  Gullies 85-  95 

Flood  Fences ;  Portable  Wire  Fence  ;  Watering  Place 
in  a  Creek. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Making  and  Setting  Posts.. - 95-117 

Making  Fence  Posts ;  A  Post  Holder  ;  Driving  Fence 
Posts  by  Hand ;  To  Drive  Posts  Without  Splitting ;  A 
Powerful  Post  Driver  ;  Setting  a  Gate  Post ;  Live  Posts; 
Mending  a  Split  Post ;  Hook  for  Wiring  Posts  :  Draw- 
ing Fence  Posts;  Lifting  Posts  bv  Hand;  Splicing 
Fence  Posts  ;  Application  of  Wood  Preservatives  ;  Iron, 
Fence  Posts. 

CHAPTER  XL 
Gates  and  Fastenings 117-164 

Wooden  Gates  ;  A  Very  Substantial  Farm  Gate ;  A 
Strong  and  Neat  Gate  ;  Light  Iron  Gates ;  Self-closing 
Gates  ;  Gate  for  a  Village  Lot ;  A  Chinese  Door  or  Gate 
Spring ;  Lifting  Gates  :  Rustic  Gates  ;  Balance  Gates ; 
Gate  for  Snowy  Weather ;  West  India  Farm  Gates  ; 
Gate  Hinges  of  Wood  ;  Double  Gates  :  Double  Latched 
Gates;  Improved  Slide  Gate;  A  Combined  Hinge  and 
Sliding  Gate :  Gates  of  Wood  and  Wire  ;  A  Good  and 
Cheap' Farm  Gate;  An  Improved  Wire  Gate;  Taking 
up  the  Sag  in  Gates ;  Good  Gate  Latches  ;  Top  Hinge 
of  Farm  Gate  ;  Gateways  in  Wire  Fence. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Wickets  and  Stiles  164-170 

Iron  Wickets;  Wooden  Wickets;  Stiles  for  Wire 
Fences. 

CHAPTER  XTQ. 
Fence  Law __ 169-176 

Fencing  Out  or  Fencing  In  :  Division  Fences  ;  High- 
way Fences  ;  What  is  a  Legal  Fence  ?  Railroad  Fences. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Country  Bridges  and  Culverts.. 176-188 

Strength  of  Bridges  ;  Braces  and  Trusses  ;  Abut- 
ments, Piers  and  Railings ;  Bridges  for  Gullies ;  Road 
Culverts. 


FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 


CHAPTER    I. 

RAIL   AND    OTHER  PRIMITIVE   WOOD    FENCES. 
VIRGINIA   KAIL  FENCE. 

The  zigzag  rail  fence  was  almost  universally  adopted 
by  the  settlers  in  the  heavily  timbered  portions  of  the 
country,  and  countless  thousands  of  miles  of  it  still  ex- 
ist, though  the  increasing  scarcity  of  timber  has  brought 
other  styles  of  fencing  largely  into  use.  Properly  built, 
of  good  material,  on  a  clear,  solid  bed,  kept  free  from 
bushes  and  other  growth  to  shade  it  and  cause  it  to  rot, 
the  rail  fence  is  as  cheap  as  any,  and  as  effective  and  dur- 
able as  can  reasonably  be  desired.  Good  chestnut,  oak, 
cedar,  or  juniper  rails,  or  original  growth  heart  pine, 
will  last  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  years,  so  that  material 
of  this  sort,  once  in  hand,  will  serve  one  or  two  genera- 
tions. This  fence,  ten  rails  high,  and  propped  with  two 
rails  at  each  corner,  requires  twelve  rails  to  the  panel. 
If  the  fence  bed  is  five  feet  wide,  and  the  rails  are  eleven 
feet  long,  and  are  lapped  about  a  foot  at  the  locks,  one 
panel  will  extend  about  eight  feet  in  direct  line.  This 
takes  seven  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty  rails,  or 
about  eight  thousand  rails  to  the  mile.  For  a  tempo- 
rary fence,  one  that  can  be  put  up  and  taken  down  in  a 


8  FEXCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 

short  time,  for  making  stock  pens  and  division  fences, 
not  intended  to  remain  long  in  place,  nothing  is  cheaper, 
or  better.  The  bed  for  a  fence  of  this  kind  should  not 
be  less  than  five  feet  across,  to  enable  it  to  stand  before 
the  wind.  The  rails  are  best  cut  eleven  feet  long,  as 
this  makes  a  lock  neither  too  long  nor  too  short ;  and 
the  forward  end  of  each  rail  should  come  under  the  next 
one  that  is  laid.  The  corners,  or  locks,  as  they  are 
called,  should  also  be  well  propped  with  strong,  whole 
rails,  not  with  pieces  of  rails,  as  is  often  done.  The 
props  should  be  set  firmly  on  the  ground  about  two  feet 
from  the  panel,  and  crossed  at  the  lock  so  as  to  hold  each 
other,  and  the  top  course  of  tbe  fence  firmly  in  place. 
They  thus  act  as  braces  to  the  fence,  supporting  it 


Fig.  1. — VIRGINIA  ZIGZAG  FENCE  COMPLETE. 

against  the  wind.  Both  sides  of  the  fence  should  be 
propped.  The  top  course  of  rails  should  be  the  strong- 
est and  heaviest  of  any,  for  the  double  purpose  of  weight- 
ing the  fence  down,  and  to  prevent  breaking  of  rails  by 
persons  getting  upon  it.  The  four  courses  of  rails  near- 
est the  ground  should  be  of  the  smallest  pieces,  to  pre- 
vent making  the  cracks,  or  spaces  between  the  rails,  too 
large.  They  should  also  be  straight,  and  of  nearly  even 
sizes  at  both  ends.  This  last  precaution  is  only  necessary 
•where  small  pigs  have  to  be  fenced  out  or  in,  as  the  case 
may  be.  The  fence,  after  it  is  finished,  will  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  figure  1,  will  be  six  rails  high,  two  props  at 
each  lock,  and  the  worm  will  be  crooked  enough  to 
stand  any  wind,  that  will  not  prostrate  crops,  fruit  trees, 
etc.  A  straighter  worm  than  this  will  be  easy  to  blow 
down  or  push  over.  The  stability  of  this  sort  of  fence 


RAIL   AND   OTHER   PRIMITIVE   WOOD   FENCES.  9 

depends  very  largely  on  the  manner  of  placing  the  props, 
both  as  to  the  distance  of  the  foot  of  the  prop  rail  from 
the  fence  panel,  and  the  way  it  is  locked  at  the  corner. 


LAYING   A   RAIL  FENCE. 

It  is  much  better,  both  for  good  looks  and  economy,  to 
have  the  corners  of  a  rail  fence  on  each  side  in  line  with 
each  other.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  means  of  a 
very  simple  implement,  shown  in  figure 
2.  It  consists  of-  a  small  pole,  eight 
feet  long,  sharpened  at  the  lower  end. 
A  horizontal  arm  .of  a  length  equal  to 
half  the  width  of  the  fence  from  ex- 
treme outside  of  corners,  is  fastened  to 
the  long  pole  at  right  angles,  near  the 
lower  end.  Sometimes  a  sapling  may 
be  found  with  a  limb  growing  nearly  at 
right  angles,  which  will  serve  the  pur- 
pose. Before  beginning  the  i'ence,  stakes 
are  set  at  intervals  along  the  middle 
of  the  line  it  is  to  occupy.  To  begin, 
the  gauge,  as  shown  in  figure  2,  is  set  in  line  with  the 
stakes,  and  the  horizontal  arm  is  swung  outwardly  at 


Fig.  3. — THE  FENCE  BEGUN. 

right  angles  to  the  line  of  fence.  A  stone  or  block  to 
support  the  first  corner  is  laid  directly  under  the  end  of 
the  horizontal  arm,  and  the  first  rail  laid  with  one  end 


10  FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 

resting  on  the  support.  In  the  same  way  the  next  corner 
and  all  others  are  laid,  the  gauge  being  moved  from 
corner  to  corner,  set  in  the  line  of  fence,  and  the  arm 
swung  alternately  to  the  right  and  left. 


STAKING   AND   WIRING. 

A  neater  and  more  substantial  method  of  securing  the 
corners  of  a  worm  fence  is  by  vertical  stakes  and  wires,  as 
shown  in  the  accompanying  illustrations.  When  the 
lower  three  rails  are  laid,  the  stakes  are  driven  in  the 


Fig.  4. — STAKES  IN  "  LOCK."  Fig.  5. — STAKES  IN  ANGLES. 

angles  close  to  the  rails,  and  secured  by  a  band  of  an- 
nealed wire.  The  work  of  laying  the  rails  proceeds,  and 
when  within  one  rail  of  the  top,  a  second  wire  band  is 
put  in  place.  Or  the  upper  wire  may  be  put  on  above, 
the  top  rail.  Annealed  wire  is  plentiful  and  cheap. 


KAIL   AND    OTHER    PRIMITIVE   WOOD    FEX<?ES.  11 

A   FENCE    OF    "  STAKES   AKD   EIDERS." 

A  very  common  method  with  the  "  worm"  or  "  Vir- 
ginia*'  rail  fence  is  to  drive  slanting  stakes  over  the  corner 
in  saw-horse  style,  and  lay  the  top  rail  into  the  angle 


Fig.  6.— A  STAKE  AND  RLDEB  FENCE. 

thus  formed.  The  stakes,  resting  on  the  rails  and  stand- 
ing at  angle,  brace  the  fence  firmly.  But  the  feet  of  the 
stakes  extending  beyond  the  jagged  corners  formed  by  the 
ends  of  the  rail  are  objectionable.  This  is  remedied  in 
part  by  putting  the  stakes  over  the  middle  of  the  panel 
— at  considerable  distance  apart — and  laying  in  them  long 
poles  horizontally.  In  this  case  the  stakes  should  be  set 
at  such  an  angle  as  to  prevent  their  moving  sidewise 
along  the  top  rail,  which  should  be  a  strong  one.  These 
stakes  and  long  riders  are  frequently  used  to  raise  the 
bight  of  low  stone  walls.  Figure  6  shows  a  fence  nearly 
all  composed  of  stakes  and  riders,  which  is  straight  and 
requires  fewer  rails  than  a  worm  fence.  First,  crotched 
stakes,  formed  by  the  forks  of  a  branching  tree  limb,  a 
foot  or  more  long,  are  driven  a  foot  or  so  into  the  ground 
at  a  distance  apart  corresponding  to  the  length  of  poles 
used.  The  bottom  poles  are  laid  into  these,  and  two 


12  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

stakes,  split  or  round  poles,  are  driven  over  these  and 
the  next  poles  laid  in.  Then  two  more  stakes  and  an- 
other pole,  and  so  on  as  high  as  the  fence  is  required. 
This  will  answer  for  larger  animals,  and  be  strong  and 


Fig.  7. — A   POLE  FENCE. 

not  expensive.  For  swine,  and  other  small  live-stock, 
the  crotch  stakes  may  be  replaced  by  blocks  or  stones,  and 
the  lower  poles  be  small  and  begin  close  to  the  ground. 


A  POLE   FENCE. 


A  fence  which  is  cheaply  constructed  in  a  timbered 
region,  and  calls  for  no  outlay  whatever,  besides  labor,  is 


8. —  WITHE. 


Fig.  9.— WITHE  IN  PLACE. 


illustrated  at  figure  7.     The  posts  are  set  in  a  straight 
line,  having  previously  been  bored  with  an  inch  augur  to 


BAIL  AND   OTHER   PRIMITIVE   WOOD   FEXCES. 


13 


receive  the  pins.  AVhen  they  are  set,  the  pins  are  driven 
diagonally  into  the  posts,  and  the  poles  laid  in  place.  It 
would  add  much  to  its  strength,  if  the  poles  were  laid  so 
as  to  "break  joints."  A  modification  of  this  fence  is 
sometimes  made  by  using  withes  instead  of  pins  to  hold 
the  poles  in  place.  The  withe  is  made  of  a  young  sap- 
ling or  slender  limb  of  beech,  iron-wood,  or  similar  tough 
fibrous  wood,  with  the  twigs  left  on.  This  is  twisted 
upon  itself,  a  strong  loop  made  at  the  top,  through  which 
the  butt  is  slipped.  When  in  place,  the  butt  end  is 
tucked  under  the  body  of  the  withe. 


FENCES  FOE  SOIL  LIABLE  TO   HEAVE. 

The  main  point  in  such  a  fence  is  either  to 


WMt™%  *''    ''• 

Fig.  10.— END  VIEW  OF  FENCE. 

and  place  a  pin  through  them  near  the  bottom,  so  that 
the  frost  may  not  throw  them  out,  or  to  so  attach  the 


14 


GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


boards  that  the  posts  may  be  re-driven,  without  splitting 
them,  or  removing  the  rails  from  the  fence.  The  latter 
is,  perhaps,  the  best  plan,  and  may  be  accomplished  in 


Fig.  11. — SIDE  VIEW  OF  FENCE. 

several  ways,  the  most  desirable  of  which  is  shown  in  fig- 
ures 10  and  11.  The  post,  h,  is  driven  in  the  usual 
manner,  when  a  strip  of  board,  g,  is  fastened  to  it  by 
three  or  four  spikes,  depending  upon  the  liight  of  the 


\\' 

Fig.  12. — FENCE  WITH  IRON  HOOKS. 

fence.  A  space  just  sufficient  to  insert  the  ends  of  boards 
a,  e,  figure  11,  is  left  between  the  post  and  outside  strip, 
the  ends  of  the  boards  resting  upon  the  spikes.  Many 


RAIL  AND   OTHER   PRIMITIVE   WOOD   FENCES.          15 

miles  of  this  fence  are  in  use.  It  looks  neat ;  besides 
any  portion  is  easily  removed,  making  a  passage  to  and 
from  the  field.  A  new  post  is  easily  put  in  when  required, 
and  any  may  be  re-driven  when  heaved  by  the  frost. 

Where  iron  is  cheap,  a  rod  about  three-eighths  of  an 
incli  in  diameter  is  cut  in  lengths  of  about  seven  and  a 
half  inches  ;  one  end  is  sharpened,  while  the  opposite 
end,  for  three  inches,  is  bent  at  right  angles.  After  the 
boards  are  placed  in  position,  the  hooks  should  be  driven 
in  so  that  they  will  firmly  grasp  the  boards  and  hold 
them  in  place.  The  general  appearance  of  the  finished 
fence  is  shown  in  figure  12,  and  is  one  adapted  to  al- 
most any  locality. 

A  much  better  method  is  to  fasten  the  boards  tempo- 
rarily in  place,  and  then  bore  a  half  inch  hole  through 


Fig.  13. — HOBIZONTAL   SECTION. 

both  boards  and  the  post,  into  which  a  common  screw 
bolt  is  then  inserted  and  the  nut  screwed  on  firmly.  The 
two  ends  should,  however,  be  put  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
post.  ,  One  bolt  thus  holds  the  ends  of  both  boards  firm- 
ly to  the  post,  as  shown  in  figure  13.  With  this  style  of 
fence,  old  rails  or  round  poles  may  be  used  instead  of 
boards. 


OTHER   PRIMITIVE   FENCES. 

In  the  heavily  timbered  parts  of  the  country,  where 
the  settlers  a'  few  years  ago  were  making  farms  by  felling 
and  burning  the  huge  pine  trees,  a  fence  was  constructed 


16 


FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 


like  the  one  shown  in  figure  14.  Sections  of  trees,  about 
four  and  a  half  feet  long  and  often  as  thick,  were  placed 
in  line  and  morticed  to  receive  from  three  to  five  rails. 


Fig.  14.— LOG  POSTS. 

This  style  of  fence  could  be  used  by  the  landscape  gar- 
dener with  fine  effect  for  enclosing  a  park  or  shrubbery. 
In  the  same  regions,  when  a  farmer  has  pulled  all  the 
stumps  from  a  pasture  that  slopes  toward  the  highway, 


Fig.  15. — STUMP  FENCE. 

the  stumps  may  be  placed  in  line  along  the  road  with 
the  top  ends  inside  of  the  field.  The  gaps  between 
where  the  stumps  can  not  be  rolled  close  together,  are 


Fig.  16. — WICKER  FENCE. 

filled  with  brushwood.     A  portion  of  this  fence  is  shown 
in  figure  15. 
Where  other  material  is  costly,  or  not  to  be  obtained, 


RAIL    AXD    OTHER    PRIMITIVE    WOOD   FENCES.  17 

the  wicker  fence,  constructed  of  stakes  and  willows,  is 
much  used.  In  the  far  West  it  is  to  be  seen  in  every 
town,  generally  built  on  a  small  embankment  of  earth 
from  one  to  two  feet  deep.  In  this  climate,  with  occa- 
sional repairs,  it  lasts  from  ten  to  fifteen  years.  Fig- 
ure 16  shows  the  style  of  construction. 

Throughout  the  forest  regions  is  found  the  staked  and 
ridered  brush  growing  on  the  line  where  the  fence  is 


Fig.    17. — BRUSH  FENCE. 

constructed.  Figure  17  illustrates  a  few  r.ods  of  brush 
fence — such  fencing  being  met  with  in  our  Southern 
States. 


CHAPTER    II. 

STONE    AND    SOD    FENCES. 

HOW   A   STONE   WALL  SHOULD   BE  BUILT. 

To  build  a  stone  wall,  some  skill  is  required.     The 
foundation  should  be  dug  out  a  foot  deep,  and  the  earth 


Fig.  18. — WELL    LAID   WALL. 

thrown  upon  each  side,  which  serves  to  turn  water  from 
the  wall.  Large  stones  are  bedded  in  the  trench,  and 
long  stones  placed  crosswise  upon  them.  As  many  whole 
stones  as  possible  should  be  used  in  this  place.  The 
stones  are  then  arranged  as  shown  in  the  engraving, 
breaking  joints,  and  distributing  the  weight  equally. 
Any  small  spaces  should  be  filled  with  chips  broken  off 
in  dressing  the  larger  stones,  so  as  to  make  them  fit 
snugly.  As  it  is  a  work  that  will  last  a  century,  it  is 
worth  doing  well. 


BUILDING    A    STONE    FENCE. 

A  permanent  stone  fence  should  be  built  from  four  to 
five  feet  high,  two  feet  wide  at  the  base  and  one  foot  at  the 
top,  if  the  kind  of  stones  available  allow  this  construe- 
(18) 


STOXE   A^D    SOD    FENCES.  19 

tion.  If  a  higher  fence  is  desired,  the  width  should  be 
correspondingly  increased.  The  surface  of  the  soil  along 
the  line  of  the  fence  should  be  made  smooth  and  as 
nearly  level  as  possible.  The  hight  will  depend  upon  the 
situation,  the  animals,  the  smoothness  of  the  wall 
(whether  sheep  can  get  foot-holds  to  climb  over),  and 
the  character  of  the  ground  along  each  side.  If  the  earth 
foundation  be  rounded  up  previously,  sloping  off  to  an 
open  depression  or  gully,  less  hight  will  be  needed.  Such 


Fig.  19.— LATINO  UP  A  STONE  FENCE. 

an  elevation  will  furnish  a  dry  base  not  heaved  by  frost 
like  a  wet  one.  Without  this,  or  a  drain  alongside  or 
under  the  wall,  to  keep  the  soil  always  dry,  the  base  must 
be  sunk  deeply  enough  to  be  proof  against  heavy  frosts, 
which  will  tilt  and  loosen  the  best  laid  wall  on  wet  soil. 
The  foundation  stones  should  be  the  largest ;  smaller 
stones  packed  between  them  are  necessary  to  firmness. 
The  mistake  is  sometimes  made  of  placing  all  the  larger 
stones  on  the  outside  of  the  wall,  filling  the  center  with 
small  ones.  Long  bind-stones  placed  at  frequent  inter- 
vals through  the  wall  add  greatly  to  its  strength.  The 
top  of  the  fence  is  most  secure  when  covered  with  larger 


20  FENCES.   OAT ES    AXD    BRIDGES. 

close-fitting,  flat  stones.  The  engraving  sljows  a  wooden 
frame  and  cords  used  as  a  guide  in  building  a  substantial 
stone  fence.  Two  men  can  work  together  with  mutual 
advantage  on  opposite  sides  of  the  stone  wall. 


TRUCK  FOE  MOVING   STOKES. 

The  small  truck  (figure  20)  is  not  expensive,  and  may 
be  made  to  save  a  great  amount  of  hard  lifting  in  build- 
ing a  stone  wall.  It  is  a  low  barrow,  the  side  bars  forming 


Fig.  20.— TRUCK  FOR 

the  handles  like  a  wheelbarrow.  It  rests  upon  four  low- 
iron  wheels.  A  broad  plank,  or  two  narrow  ones,  are 
laid  with  one  end  against  the  wall  and  the  other  resting 
on  the  ground.  A  groove  is  cot  at  the  upper  end  for  the 
wheels  to  rest  in.  The  stone  is  loaded  on  the  truck, 
moved  to  the  place,  and  pushed  up  the  plank  until  the 
wheels  fall  into  the  groove,  when,  by  lifting  on  the  han- 
dles, the  stone  is  unloaded. 


REIKFORCIXG   A   STOKE  WALL. 

A  stone  wall  which  affords  ample  protection  against 
sheep  and  hogs,  may  be  quite  insufficient  for  horses  and 
cattle.  The  deficiency  is  cheaply  supplied  in  the  manner 


STONE  AND   SOD   FENCES.  21 

indicated  by  the  illustration,  figure  21.      Round  poles  or 


Fig.  21.— STONE  WALL  REEfFOBCED. 

rails  are  used,  and  if  the  work  is  properly  performed,  the 
fence  is  very  effective. 


A  COMPOSITE   FENCE. 


The  fence  illustrated  at  figure  22  is  quite  common  in 
some  parts  of  Xew  England.     A  ridge  is  thrown  up  by 


Fig.  22.— COMPOSITE  FENOB. 

back-furrowing  with   a  plow,    and  both  that  and   the 
ditches  finished  by  hand  with  a  shovel.     Light  posts  are 


22  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 

easily  driven  through  the  soft  earth,  and  a  board  fence, 
only  three  boards  high,  made  in  the  usual  manner.  Then 
the  stones,  as  they  are  picked  up  in  the  field,  are  hauled 
to  the  fence  and  thrown  upon  the  ridge.  This  clears  the 
field,  strengthens  the"  ridge,  prevents  the  growth  of 
weeds,  and  assists  in  packing  the  earth  firmly  around  the 
bottom  of  the  posts. 


A   PEAIRIE  SOD    FENCE. 


A  sod  fence,  beside  its  other  value,  is  a  double  barrier 
against  the  prairie  fires  which  are  so  sweeping  and  destruc- 
tive to  new  settlers,  if  unobstructed,  for  a  wide  strip  is 


Fig.  23. — SOD   CUTTER. 

cleared  of  sods,  the  fence  standing  in  the  middle  of  it.  A 
very  convenient  implement  for  cutting  the  sod  is  shown 
at  figure  23.  It  is  made  of  planks  and  scantling,  the 
method  of  construction  being  clearly  shown.  The  cut- 
ting disks  are  four  wheel-coulters  from  common  break- 
ing plows,  all  attached  to  an  iron  shaft  sixteen  'inches 
apart.  They  are  set  to  cut  three  or  four  inches  deep. 
This  is  run  three  times  along  the  line  of  the  fence,  mak- 
ing nine  cuts,  the  cutters  being  held  down  by  a  man  rid- 
ing on  the  rear  of  the  apparatus.  Then  with  a  breaking 


STONE   AND   SOD  FENCES.  23 

plow  one  furrow  is  turned  directly  in  the  line  of  the  fence, 
completely  inverting  the  sod,  the  team  turned  to  the 
right,  and  a  second  or  back  furrow  is  inverted  on  top  of 
the  first.  Additional  furrows  are  cut,  diminishing  in 
width  to  five  or  six  inches  on  the  outer  side,  as  shown  in 
the  diagram,  figure  24.  After  the  two  inner  sods  are 
turned,  the  rest  are  carried  by  hand,  wheelbarrow  or  a 
truck,  (figure  20),  and  laid  on  the  sod  wall,  care  being 
used  to  "  break  joints  "  and  to  taper  gradually  to  the 


Fig.  104. — THE   SOD   CUT. 

top.  If  a  more  substantial  fence  is  wanted,  a  strip 
thirty-two  inches  wide  may  be  left  as  a  part  for  the 
fence,  the  first  two  furrows  inverted  upon  the  uncut  por- 
tion, so  that  their  edges  just  touch.  The  sod  fence  is 
then  continued  to  the  summit  just  twice  as  thick  as  it 
would  be  by  the  process  just  described.  After  the  fence 
is  laid,  a  deep  furrow  should  be  run  on  each  side,  throw- 
ing the  earth  against  the  base  of  the  fence.  A  very  ef- 
fective and  cheap  fence  is  made  by  laying  up  a  sod 
"dyke,  "  as  above  described,  three  feet  high,  then  driving 
light  stakes  along  the  summit,  and  stringing  two  strands 
of  barbed  wire  to  them. 


CHAPTEE     III. 
BOAED    FENCES. 

BUILDIXG    BOARD    FENCES. 

In  building  a  board  fence,  always  start  right,  and  it 
will  be  little  trouble  to  continue  in  the  same  way.  Much 
of  the  board  fencing  erected  is  put  together  very  care- 
lessly, and  the  result  is  a  very  insecure  protection  to  the 
field  or  crops.  A  fence-post  should  be  set  two  and  a 
half  or  three  feet  in  the  ground,  and  the  earth  should  be 
packed  around  it  as  firmly  as  possible.  For  packing  the 


Fig.  25.— PROPEBLT  CONSTRUCTED  BOABD  FEKCE. 

soil  there  is  nothing  better'  than  a  piece  of  oak,  about 
three  inches  square  on  the  lower  end,  and  about  six  feet 
long,  rounded  off  on  the  upper  part  to  fit  the  hands  eas- 
ily. Properly  used,  this  instrument  will  pack  the  soil 
around  a  post  as  it  was  before  the  hole  was  dug.  In  put- 
ting on  fence  boards,  most  builders  use  two  nails  on  the 
ends  of  each  board,  and  one  in  the  middle.  Each  board 
should  have  at  least  three  nails  at  the  ends,  and  two  in 
the  middle,  and  these  nails  should  never  be  less  than  ten- 
pennys.  Smaller  nails  will  hold  the  boards  in  place  for 
awhile,  but  when  they  begin  to  warp,  the  nails  are 
drawn  out  or  loosened,  and  the  boards  drop  off.  This 
will  rarely  be  the  case  where  large  nails  are  used,  and  a 
much  stiffer  fence  is  secured.  Many  fence  builders  do 
not  cut  off  the  tops  of  the  posts  evenly,  but  this  should 
' 


BOARD    FENCES.  25 

always  be  done,  not  only  for  the  improvement  that  it 
makes  in  the  looks  of  the  fence  ;  but  also  for  the  reason 
that  there  should  always  be  a  cap  put  on,  and  to  do  this, 
the  posts  must  be  evened.  The  joints  should  always  be 
"  broken,"  as  is  shown  in  the  engraving,  figure  25,  so 
that  in  a  four-board  fence  but  two  joints  should  come  on 
each  post.  By  this  means  more  firmness  and  durability  is 
secured,  there  being  always  two  unbroken  boards  on 
each  post  to  hold  it  in  place,  preventing  sagging.  On 
the  face  of  the  post  immediately  over  where  the  rails 
have  been  nailed  on,  nail  a  flat  piece  of  board  the  width 
of  the  post  and  extending  from  the  upper  part  of  the  top 
rail  to  the  ground. 

Figure  26  shows  a  slight  modification,  which  consists  in 
setting  the  posts  on  alternate  sides  of  the  boards,  securing 
additional  stability.  The  posts  are  seven  feet  long,  of 


Fig.  26. — A  DURABLE   BOARD  FENCE. 

well  seasoned  red  cedar,  white  oak,  chestnut,  or  black  lo- 
cust, preference  being  accorded  to  order  named.  The 
boards  are  sixteen  feet  long,  fastened  with  ten-penny 
steel  fence  nails.  The  posts  for  a  space  of  two  and  a 
half  feet  from  the  lower  end  are  given  a  good  coat  of 
boiled  linseed  oil  and  pulverized  charcoal,  mixed  to  the 
consistency  of  ordinary  paint,  which  is  allowed  to  dry  be- 
fore they  are  set.  When  the  materials  are  all  ready, 
stretch  a  line  eighteen  inches  above  the  ground,  where  it 
is  proposed  to  build  the  fence.  Dig  the  post  holes,  eight 
feet  apart  from  centers,  on  alternate  sides  of  the  line. 
The  posts  are  set  with  the  faces  inward,  each  half  an 
inch  from  the  line,  to  allow  space  for  the  boards.  Hav- 


2G  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

ing  set  the  posts,  the  boards  of  the  lower  course  are  nailed 
on.  Then,  for  the  first  length,  the  second  board  from 
the  bottom  and  the  top  board  are  only  eight  feet  long, 
reaching  to  the  first  post.  For  all  the  rest  the  boards 
are- of  the  full  length,  sixteen  feet.  By  this  means  they 
"  break  joints."  After  the  boards  are  nailed  on,  the  top 
of  the  posts  are  sawed  off  slanting,  capped,  if  desired, 


Fig.  27.— A  NEAT  FARM  PENCE. 

and  the  whole  thing  painted.  A  good  coat  of  crude  pe- 
troleum, applied  before  painting,  will  help  preserve  the 
fence,  and  save  more  than  its  cost  in  the  paint  needed. 

We  see  another  style  of  board  fence  now  and  then  that 
is  rather  preferable  to  the  ordinary  one  ;  it  looks  better 
than  the  old  straight  fence.  It  saves  one  board  to  each 
length  ;  and  by  nailing  on  the  two  upper  boards,  as 
shown  in  the  illustration,  figure  27,  great  extra  strength 
is  given.  These  boards  not  only  act  as  braces,  but  ties 
also,  and  a  fence  built  on  well  set  posts,  and  thoroughly 
nailed,  will  never  sag  or  get  out  of  line  until  the  posts 
rot  off. 


FENCES  FOE  LAND  SUBJECT  TO  OVERFLOW. 

The  fence  illustrated  in  figures  28,  29  and  30  has  posts 
the  usual  distance  apart,  which  are  hewed  on  the  front 
side,  and  on  this  are  nailed  three  blocks,  three  by  four 
inches  thick  and  six  inches  long ;  the  first  one,  with  its 


BOARD   FENCES. 


top  just  level  with  the  ground,  the  second  one,  ten  inches 
in  the  clear  above,  and  the  third  one,  four  inches  less 
than  the  desired  height  of  the  fence,  measuring  from 


Fig.  28. — PANEL. 

the  top  of  the  first  block.  After  the  panel  is  put  in  place, 
the  rounded  ends  resting  on  the  bottom  blocks,  nail  a 
piece  of  board  one  and  one-half  by  six  inches  on  the 
blocks,  as  shown  in  the  illustrations.  This  board  must 
project  four  inches  above  the  upper  block,  forming  with 
it  the  rest  and  catch  for  the  top  framing  piece  of  the  pan- 
el. The  panel  is  made  of  a  top  and  bottom  piece  of  three 


Fig.  29.  Fig.  30.  Fig.  31. 

by  four  scantling,  on  which  are  nailed  palings.  The  top 
piece  is  left  square,  and  projects  three  inches  on  each 
side,  but  on  the  bottom  piece  the  projections  are  cut 
round,  so  as  to  turn  in  the  slot.  The  water  will  raise  the 
panel  up  out  of  the  upper  catch,  allowing  it  to  fall  down, 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BKIDGES. 


as  seen  at  figure  30,  so  as  to  offer  no  obstruction  to  the 
water,  nor  will  it  catch  drift,  as  fences  hung  from  the  top 


I 


Fig.  32. 


Fig.  33. 


do.     Figures  31  to  35  represent  a  fence  made  somewhat 
like  the  trestle  used  for  drying  clothes.     The  posts  are 


Fig.  34. 

the  usual  distance  apart,  but  only  extend  a  few  inches 
out  of  the  ground,  just  sufficient  to  nail  a  hinge  upon. 


Fig' 35. 

They  must,  however,  be  wide  enough  to  admit  of  nailing 
two  hinges  on  each  post.  The  fence  consists  of  two 
parts — E  in  figure  31  represents  a  cross-section  of  the 


BOARD   FENCES.  29 

fence  proper,  two  panels  of  which  are  seen  in  figure  34; 
D  represents  the  back  part  of  the  fence,  a  section  of 
which  is  shown  in  figure  35  ;  a  in  figure  31  is  the  post 
and  bb  the  hinges.  The  panel,  E,  should  always  slope 
with  the  current  of  the  stream,  that  the  water  rushing 
against  it  will  place  it  in  the  position  shown  by  figure  33, 
lying  flat  on  the  ground,  and  out  of  the  way  of  both  wa- 
ter and  drift.  The  hinges  may  be  ordinary  strap  kind, 
which  can  be  bought  very  cheap  by  the  dozen,  or  they 
may  be  made  of  heavy  iron  hoop  doubled,  as  shown  at 
figure  32,  which  can  be  made  in  any  blacksmith  shop. 


A  FEXCE   BOARD   HOLDER. 


Figure  36  shows  a  contrivance  for  holding  fence  boards 
against  the  posts,  at  the  right  distances  apart  when  nail- 


ing.  A  two  and  a  half  by  two  and  a  half  inch  piece  of 
the  desired  length  is  taken  for  the  upright,  a.  About  its 
center  is  hinged  the  brace,  c.  A  strap  hinge,  b,  or  a 
stout  piece  of  leather  for  a  hinge,  will  answer.  Blocks 
or  stops,  d,  d,  d,  d,  are  nailed  on  the  upright  a,  at  the 
required  distances,  according  to  the  space  between  the 


30  FENCES,  GATES   AHD    BRIDGES. 

boards  on  the  fence.  The  bottom  boards  of  the  fence 
are  nailed  on  first.  The  bottom  block  of  the  board 
holder  rests  upon  the  bottom  board,  and  is  held  in  posi- 
tion by  the  brace  c.  The  boards  can  be  placed  in  the  holder 
like  putting  up  bars,  and  are  guided  to  their  places  on 
the  post  by  the  blocks,  d,  d.  The  boards  can  now  be 
nailed  on  the  posts,  and  the  holding  devices  moved  for 
another  length.  When  the  boards  are  too  long,  they  can 
be  pulled  forward  a  little,  and  the  end  sawed,  and  pushed 
back  to  place.  One  man  using  the  contrivance,  can  nail 
on  nearly  as  many  boards  in  a  day,  as  two  persons  with 
one  to  hold  the  boards  in  the  old  way.  Figure  37  shows 
the  manner  of  using  the  fence  board  holders. 


KELNFOECING  A   BOAKD   FENCE. 

The  old  method  of  topping  out  a  low  board  fence  is 
shown   at  figure   38.     Since  barbed  wire  has   become 


Fig.  38. — STRENGTHENING  A  BOAKD  FENCE. 

plenty,  it  is  more  usual  to  increase  the  height  of  the 
fence  by  stringing  one  or  two  strands  of  that  on  vertical 
slats  nailed  to  the  tops  of  the  posts.  Yet,  in  cases  where 
there  are  plenty  of  sound  rails  left  from  some  old  fence, 
or  plenty  of  straight  saplings,  the  old  method  is  still  a 
very  cheap  and  convenient  one. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PICKET    FENCES. 
A   GOOD   GAKDEN   FENCE. 

The  engraving,  figure  39,  represents  a  good,  substan- 
tial garden  fence,  that,  while  somewhat  more  serviceable 
than  the  ordinary  kind,  may  be  constructed  at  less  cost. 
It  does  not  materially  differ  from  the  common  picket 


I. — A  LATH  AND  PICKET  FENCE. 


fence,  further  than  that  the  pickets  are  put  five  inches 
apart,  with  strips  of  lath  nailed  between.  The  pickets 
give  the  necessary  strength,  while  the  lath,  as  a  shield 
against  poultry,  or  rabbits  and  other  vermin,  is  equally  as 
good  at  one-sixth  the  cost.  An  old  picket  fence  sur- 
rounding a  garden  or  yard,  may  be  "lathed"  in  the 
manner  here  indicated  at  little  expense. 


A   SOUTHERN   PICKET  FENCE. 

The  picket  fence  in  very  general  use  in  the  Southern 
States,  is  shown  in  figure  40.     It  will  be  observed  that 
the  pickets,  instead  of  terminating  in   an  equal-sided 
(31) 


3-3 


FENCES,  GATES   AXD  BRIDGES. 


point,  have  but  one  slanting  side,  while  the  other  is 
straight.  Such  a  fence  looks  quite  as  well  as  one  with 
the  other  style  of  points,  and  is  exceedingly  neat  and 


Fig.  40. — SOTITHEBN  PICKET  FENCE. 

serviceable  along  the  line  of  the  street,  or  to  mark  the 
boundary  between  two  estates.  To  facilitate  the  sawing 
of  the  pickets,  the  bench  or  horse  represented  in  figure 


Fig.  41. — BEXCH   FOB    SAWING   PICKETS. 

41  is  employed.  This  has  a  stop  at  one  end,  while  near 
the  other  end  are  two  upright  pieces  to  serve  as  guides 
in  sawing.  The  edge  of  one  of  these  is  far  enough  in 
the  rear  of  the  other  to  give  the  desired  slope.  In  saw- 


PICKET  FENCES.  33 

ing,  the  saw  rests  against  these  guides,  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  lines.  In  a  picket  fence,  the  point  where  decay 
commences,  is  where  the  pickets  cross  the  string  pieces. 
Water  enters  between  the  two,  and  decay  takes  place 
which  is  unsuspected  until  the  breaking  of  a  picket  re- 
veals the  state  of  affairs.  The  string  pieces  and  the 
pickets,  at  least  upon  one  side,  should  be  painted  before 
putting  them  together,  and  nailed  while  the  paint  is 
fresh. 


FENCES  OF  SPLIT  PICKETS. 

In  localities  where  sawed  timber  is  expensive,  and  split 
timber  is  readily  obtained,    a  very  neat  picket  fence  may 


Fig.  42.— A  FENCE  OP  SPLIT  STUFF. 

be  made  with  very  little  outlay,  by  using  round  posts, 
split  stringers,  and  rived  pickets,  as  shown  in  the  engrav- 
ing, figure  42.  The  stringers  are  eight  to  twelve  feet 
in  length,  and  usually  one  of  the  flat  sides  is  sufficiently 
smooth  for  receiving  the  pickets.  Let  the  stringers  pro- 
ject a  few  inches  beyond  each  post,  adding  strength  to 
the  fence,  and  should  the  posts  decay,  new  ones  may  be 
driven  in  on  either  side,  and  the  stringers  readily  at- 
tached by  heavy  nails  or  spikes.  With  timber  that  splits 
freely,  a  man  can  rive  out  five  or  six  hundred  pickets  in  a 
day.  The  construction  of  the  fence  is  plainly  shown  in 
the  above  engraving. 


34 


FEXCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


Figure  43  represents  a  f  ence-made  entirely  of  split  tim- 
ber, the  only  cash  outlay  being  for  nails.  This  may  be 
made  so  as  to  turn,  not  only  all  kinds  of  stock,  but 
rabbits,  etc.  The  pickets  are  sharpened,  and  driven  six 


Fig.  43. — CHEAP  FENCE   OF   SPLIT 


or  eight  inches  into  the  ground,  and  firmly  nailed  to  a 
strong  string-piece  at  top. 

Another  good  substantial  fence  is  represented  by  figure 
44,   which,    though  somewhat  expensive,   is  especially 


v— 

r 


^VsV^f^^^^ 

Fig.  44.— COMMON  PICKET  FENCE. 

adapted  for  yard,  orchard  and  vineyard  enclosure.  This 
needs  no  explanation.  The  posts  should  not  be  set  fur- 
ther than  eight  feet  apart ;  two  by  four  inch  scantlings 
should  be  used  to  nail  to,  and  split  palings  should  be 
nailed  on  with  annealed  steel  nails. 


OBNAMENTAL    PICKET    FENCES. 

The  fence  shown  in  figure  45  may  be  constructed 
with  flat  pickets,  three  inches  wide  and  three  feet  five 
inches  long.  The  notches  in  the  pickets  are  easily 


PICKET  FEHCES. 


35 


made  with  a  compass  saw,   or  a  foot-power  scroll-saw. 
The  top  and  bottom  pieces  between  the  pickets  may  be 


w 

* 


A 


Fig.  45.  —  ORNAMENTAL   PICKET  FENCE.  Fig.  46. 

painted  some  other  color  than  the  fence,  if  so  desired. 
Any  carpenter  should  be  able  to  construct  it  at  a  small 
advance  over  a  fence  made  from  plain  pickets,  making 
the  pattern  as  in  figure  46. 
A  plainer,  but  still  very  neat  form  of  picket  fence  is 


Fig.  47.—  A  PLAINER  PICKET  FENCE. 

illustrated  at  figure  47.     The   intermediate 
notched  at  one  end  and  square  at  the  other. 


pieces  are 


36  FENCES,  GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 

KUSTIC   PICKET  FENCES. 

"When  the  farmers  on  the  prairies  prevent  the  spread- 
ing of  the  prairie  fires,  young  oak  and  hickory  saplings 
spring  up  as  if  by  magic  near  all  the  wooded  streams. 
These  saplings  come  from  huge  roots  whose  tops  have 


Fi£.  48.— BUSTIC  SAPLING  FENCE. 

yearly  been  destroyed  by  fire,,  In  that  section  farmers 
often  construct  a  very  neat  rustic  fence  from  two  or 
three  year  old  saplings,  having  the  appearance  of  figure 
48.  The  rustic  pickets  are  trimmed  so  as  to  leave  the 
branches  projecting  about  two  inches,  and  are  nailed 
on  with  four-penny  nails.  A  fence  of  this  kind  would 
not  last  long,  unless  the  pickets,  posts,  and  rails  were 
free  of  bark,  or  saturated  with  crude  petroleum. 

A  very  neat  and  picturesque  fence  for  a  garden  or 


Fig.  49.— RUSTIC   PICKET  FENCE. 

a  lawn   is   shown   at   figure  49.      It  is  made  of  round 
poles,  with  the  bark  on,  the  posts  being  of  similar  mate- 


PICKET   FENCES.  3? 

rial.  Three  horizontal  bars  are  nailed  to  the  posts  at 
equal  intervals,  the  slats  or  pickets  woven  into  them  and 
then  nailed  in  place.  One  or  two  coats  of  crude  petro- 
leum, applied  to  this  and  other  rustic  work  at  first,  and 
renewed  every  year,  adds  to  its  appearance  and  greatly 
increases  its  durability. 


LIGHT   PICKET   FENCES. 

For  enclosing  poultry  yards,  garden  and  grounds,  a 
cheap  fence  with  pickets  of  lath  often  serves  a  good  pur- 
pose. If  not  very  durable,  the  cost  of  repair  or  renewal 
is  light.  Figure  50  shows  one  of  this  kind,  which  is 
sufficiently  high  for  the  Asiatic  and  other  heavy  and 
quiet  fowls.  The  panels  are  sixteen  feet  long,  aad  are 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 


Fig.  50. — PANEL  OF  PICKET  FEXCE. 

composed  of  two  pieces  of  ordinary  six-inch  fencing,  for 
top  and  bottom  rails,  with  lath  nailed  across  two  and  a 
half  inches  apart ;  the  top  ends  of  the  lath  extending 
ten  inches  above  the  upper  edge  of  the  top  rail.  Posts, 
three  or  four  inches  through  at  the  top  end,  are  large 
enough,  and,  after  sharpening  well,  can  be  driven  into 
the  ground  by  first  thrusting  a  crow-bar  down  and  wrench- 
ing it  back  and  forth.  A  post  is  necessary  at  the  middle 
of  each  panel.  Both  rails  of  the  panel  should,  be  well 
nailed  to  the  posts.  These  panels  may  be  neatly  and 
rapidly  made  in  a  frame,  constructed  for  that  purpose. 
This  frame,  shown  in  figure  51,  consists  simply  of 
three  cross-pieces  of  six  by  six,  four  feet  long,  upon 


38 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


which  are  spiked  two  planks  one  foot  wide  and  three  feet 
apart,  from  outside  to  outside.  Four  inches  from  the 
inner  edge  of  each  plank  is  nailed  a  straight  strip  of  inch 
stuff,  to  keep  the  rails  of  the  panel  in  place  while  the 


Fig.  51. — FBAME  FOB  MAKING  FENCE. 

lath  are  being  nailed  on.  Against  the  projecting  ends  of 
the  cross-pieces,  spike  two  by  six  posts  twelve  inches 
long  ;  on  the  inside  of  these  posts.nail  a  piece  of  six-inch 
fencing,  to  serve  as  a  stop,  for  the  top  ends  of  the  laths  to 
touch,  when  nailing  them  to  the  rails.  These  panels  can 
be  made  in  the  shop  or  on  the  barn  floor  at  odd  times, 
and  piled  away  for  future  use.  Nail  a  wide  bottom  board 
around  on  the  inside  of  the  enclosure  after  the  fence  is 
in  position. 

Figures  52  and  53  show  lath  fences  high  enough  for 
all  kinds  of  poultry.  The  posts  in  figure  52  are  eight 
feet  apart.  A  horizontal  bar  is  nailed  to  the  posts  six 


Fig.  52. 


Fig.  53. 


inches  above  the  ground,  a  second  one  eighteen  inches, 
and  a  third  four  and  a  half  feet.  To  two  lower  strips 
nail  laths  that  have  been  cut  to  half  length,  first  driving 
the  lower  part  of  the  laths  two  inches  into  the  ground. 


PICKET  FENCES.  3P 

One  advantage  of  this  fence  is,  that  the  two  strips  near 
the  bottom,  being  so  close  together,  sustain  pressure  from 
dogs  or  outside  intruders  better  than  any  other  fence  con- 
structed of  lath,  and  dispenses  with  a  foot- wide  board,  so 
generally  used. 

The  cheapest  lath  fence  is  made  with  the  posts  four 
feet  apart,  first  sawing  them  in  two  lengthwise  at  a  saw- 
mill, and  nailing  the  lath  directly  to  the  posts  without 
the  use  of  strips.  The  two  upper  laths  have  short  verti- 
cal pieces  fastened  to  them  with  cleat  nails,  and  present 
points  to  prevent  fowls  alighting  on  the  fence.  Such  a 
fence  (figure  53)  will  cost,  for  four  feet,  one-half  post, 
three  cents ;  twenty  laths,  eight  cents ;  and  the  nails, 
three  cents,  per  running  foot,  six  feet  high,  or  one-half 
cent  per  square  foot. 


HAND-MADE  WIRE   AND   PICKET  FENCES. 

A  very  desirable  and  popular  fence  is  made  of  pickets  or 
slats  woven  into  horizontal  strands  .of  plain  wire.     Sev- 


Fig.  54. — SIDE  VIEW  OF  BENCH. 

eral  machines  have  been  invented  and  patented  for  doing 
this  work,  but  it  can  be  done  by  hand  with  the  aid  of  the 
bench  illustrated  herewith.  The  wire  should  be  a  little 
larger  than  that  used  on  harvesting  machines,  and  an- 
nealed like  it.  The  bench,  of  which  figure  54  is  a  side 
view,  and  figure  55  a  top  view,  should  be  about  sixteen 
feet  long  and  have  a  screw  at  each  corner  for  raising  and 
lowering  the  holding  bars.  For  the  screws  at  the  ends 


40 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BEIDGES. 


of  the  frame  one-half  to  three-fourth-inch  iron  rod  will 
answer.  Tfte  wire  is  twisted  close  and  tight  to  the  slats, 
and  given  two  or  three  twists  between  them.  If  the 


ttr 


Fig.  55. — TOP  VIEW  OF   BENCH. 


elats  are  of  green  stuff,  fasten  the  wire  to  them  with  small 
staples,  to  prevent  their  slipping  when  they  shrink.  The 
fence  is  fastened  to  the  post  with  common  fence  staples. 


Fig.  56.— PORTION  OF   THE  FENCE. 

When  this  style  of  fence  is  used  on  one  side  of  a  pasture 
or  highway,  its  effectiveness  may  be  increased  by  a  single 


PICKET  FENCES.  41 

strand  of  barbed  wire  stapled  to  the  posts  above  the 
pickets,  and  a  strand  of  plain  wire  strung  along  the  bot- 
tom to  stiffen  it.  The  fence  will  then  be  as  in  figure  56. 
Such  a  fence  will  last  many  years,  and  for  most  sections 
of  the  country  is  the  best  and  cheapest  combined  cattle 
and  hog  fence  that  can  be  made.  For  a  garden  fence  it 
is  equal  to  the  best  picket,  and  at  one  third  of  the  cost. 
By  having  the  slats  sawed  about  one-half-inch  thick,  two 
inches  wide,  and  five  to  six  feet  long,  it  makes  an  excel- 
lent fence  for  a  chicken  yard,  as  it  can  be  readily  taken 
down,  moved,  and  put  up  again  without  injuring  it  in 
the  least.  For  situations  where  appearances  are  second- 
ary importance,  round  slats  are  equally  as  good  as  pickets. 
A  farmer  in  Wisconsin  planted  a  few  white  willow  trees 
the  year  that  he  made  some  fences  of  this  kind.  When 
the  fence  began  to  need  repairs,  the  willows  had  attained 
such  a  growth  that  their  trimmings  furnished  all  the 
material  needed  then  and  each  year  thereafter. 


FENCE   OF  WIRE  AND   PICKETS. 

The  fence   shown   in   figure  57  has  been  introduced 
in  some  sections,  and  is  becoming  more  popular  every 


FJg.  57.— FENCE  OF  WIRE  AND  PICKETS. 

year.  The  posts  are  set  ten  feet  apart,  and  are  so  placed 
that  they  will  come  on  the  right  and  left  side  of  the 
fence,  alternately.  The  pickets  are  split  from  oak,  or 
any  other  hard  wood,  and  are  four  or  five  feet  long, 
and  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  wide.  When  the 
posts  are  set,  brace  the  one  at  the  end  of  the  line,  and 


42  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

fasten  the  ends  of  two  number  nine,  unannealed  wires 
to  it.  Stretch  the  wires  along  to  the  other  end  of  the 
line,  and  a  few  feet  beyond  the  last  post.  One  pair  is 
to  be  stretched  near  the  top  of  the  posts  and  one  near  the 
ground.  When  the  wires  are  stretched  taut,  fasten  them 
to  some  posts  or  other  weight  that  will  drag  on  the 
ground  ;  the  upper  and  lower  wires  should  be  fastened  to 
separate  weights,  and  these  should  be  heavy  enough  to 
keep  the  wires  at  a  great  tension.  Having  done  this,  you 
are  ready  to  commence  building  the  fence.  One  man 
spreads  the  strands,  while  another  places  the  picket  be- 
tween them;  the  other  end  of  the  picket  is  then  raised 
up  and  placed  between  the  upper  wires,  and  then  driven 
up  with  an  axe  or  mallet.  In  inserting  the  pickets,  the 
wires  are  to  be  crossed  alternately,  as  shown  in  the  en- 
graving. The  pickets  should  be  dry  and  should  b~>  about 
three  inches  apart.  It  takes  two  persons  to  build  this 
fence  successfully,  but  it  can  be  built  more  rapidly  by 
three;  one  to  spread  the  wires,  one  to  place  the  picket  in 
position,  and  one  to  drive  it  home.  This  is  especially 
adapted  for  a  line  or  other  fence  which  is  not  required 
to  be  often  moved.  It  is  fastened  to  the  post  by  nailing 
one  of  the  pickets  to  it  with  common  fencing  nails. 
Fences  of  this  kind  are  also  made  with  straight,  round 
limbs  of  willow  or  other  trees  in  place  of  the  split  pickets. 
Several  different  machines  have  been  patented  for  mak- 
ing this  style  of  fence. 


CHAPTER    V. 
BARB-WIRE    FENCE, 

The  invention  of  barb  wire  was  the  mo*it  important 
event  in  the  solution  of  the  fence  problem.  The  question 
of  providing  fencing  material  had  become  serious,  even 
in  the  timbered  portions  of  the  country,  while  the  great 
prairie  region  was  almost  wholly  without  resou^e,  save 
the  slow  and  expensive  process  of  hedging.  At  this 
juncture  came  barb  wire,  which  was  at  once  seen  to  make 
a  cheap,  effective,  and  durable  fence,  rapidly  built  and 
easily  moved.  The  original  patent  for  barb  wire  was 
taken  out  in  1868,  but  it  was  not  until  six  years  J<iter 
that  an  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  it  into  general  nse, 
and  more  than  ten  years  elapsed  before  the  industry  at- 
tained any  considerable  magnitude.  The  rapidity  and 
extent  of  its  subsequent  growth  will  be  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing table,  showing  the  estimated  amount  of  barb  wire 
manufactured  and  in  use  during  the  years  named,  the 
estimated  length  being  in  miles  of  single  strand: 

TEAK.         TONS.         MILES.  TEAK.         TONS.            MILES. 

1874 5 10    1881 60,000 120,000 

1875 300 600    1882 80,000 160,000 

1876 1,500 _  3,000    1883 100,000 200,000 

1877 7,000 14,000    1884 125,000 .250,000 

1878 .13,000 26,000    1885 130,000 260,000 

1879 .25,000 50,000    1886 135,000 270,000 

1880 40,000.-. 


TOTALS.. 716,805...  .1,433,610 

There  are  now  fifty  establishments  engaged  in  the 
manufacture,  and  the  output  for  1887  is  estimated  at 
140,000  tons. 

Barb  wire  is  not  without  its  drawbacks  as  a  fencing 
material,  the  most  common  one  being  the  liability  of  seri- 
(43) 


41  FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 

cms  injury  to  valuable  domestic  animals  coming  in  con- 
tact with  the  sharp  barbs.  Many  means  have  been  de- 
vised for  overcoming  this  evil.  Some  of  them  are 
illustrated  in  the  next  chapter.  The  direct  advantages 


Fig.  58.— THE   KELLY  BABB  TVIHE. 

of  barb  wire  are:  First— economy,  not  only  in  the  com- 
parative cheapness  of  its  first  cost,  but  also  in  the  small 
amount  of  land  covered  by  it.  Second — effectiveness  as 
a  barrier  against  all  kinds  of  stock,  and  a  protection 
against  dogs  and  wild  beasts.  Third— rapidity  of  con- 
struction and  ease  of  moving.  Fourth — freedom  from 
harboring  weeds,  and  creating  snow  drifts.  Fifth— dura- 
bility. 
Barb  wire,  like  the  harvester,  the  sowing  machine,  and 


Fig.  59.— HORSE-NAIL  BABB. 

most  other  valuable  inventions,  has  attained  its  present 
form  from  very  crude  beginnings.  The  original  barb 
wire  consisted  of  double-pointed  metallic  discs,  strung 


BARB-WIRE   FENCE.  45 

loosely  upon  plain  wire.     The  next  step  was  to  twist  this 
with  another  wire,  as  shown  in  figure  58. 
Another  crude  beginning  was  the  "  horse-nail  barb, " 


Fig.  61. — STEELING  BABB  WISE. 


which  consisted  of  a  common  horse-shoe  nail  bent  around 
a  plain  wire,  and  the  whole  wrapped  spirally  with  a 
smaller  wire,  as  shown  in  figure  59.  Various  forms  of 
two-pointed  and  four-pointed  barb  wire  are  manufactured, 
the  principal  difference  being  the  shape  of  the  barbs  and 


Fig.  63. — IOWA  FOTJB-POINTBD  BABB  WIBB. 


the  manner  of  coiling  them  around  one  or  both  of  the 
strands.  A  few  of  the  leading  styles  are  illustrated  here- 
with. Figures  60  and  61  show  two  varieties  of  two- 
pointed  barb  wire. 


46  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

Of  the  numerous  styles  of  four-pointed  wire,  three  typ- 
ical   forms   are   illustrated  in  figures   62,  63,  and   64., 
The  Glidden  patent  steel  barb  wire  is  made  in  three 


Fig.  64. — LYMAN  BARB  WIRE. 

styles,  as  shown  in  figures  65,  66,  and  67.  Figure 
65  shows  the  two-point  wire,  in  which,  like  the  others, 
the  barb  is  twisted  around  only  one  of  the  wires.  Figure 


Fig.  65. — GLIDDEN  PATENT  STEEL  TWO-POINT. 

66  shows  the  "thick-set"  which  has  barbs  like  the  other, 
but  set  closer  together  for  such  purposes  as  sheep  folds, 
gardens,  or  other  places,  which  require  extra  protection. 


Fig.  66. — GLIDDEN  PATENT  STEEL   "  THICK  SET." 

The  four-point  barb  wire,  figure  67,  has  barbs  of  the 
same  form  as  the  two  other  styles,  that  is  a  sharply  prick- 
ing barb  attached  to  one  of  the  wires  of  the  fence  strand, 
upon  which  the  other  wire  is  twisted,  holding  the  barb 


BARB-WIRE 


firmly  in  place.  The  barb  is  at  right  angles  to  the  wire, 
and  does  not  form  a  hook,  but  a  straight  short  steel  thorn. 
A  sharp  point  which  inflict  an  instantaneous  prick  repels 
an  animal  more  safely  than  a  longer  and  duller  barb. 
Barb  wire  of  nearly,  if  not  quite  all  the  popular  kinds, 
is  shipped  from  the  factory  on  strong  spools,  each  holding 


.— GLIDDEN  PATENT  FOUR-POINT. 


one  hundred  pounds  in  weight,  or  eighty  rods  in  length. 
These  spools  are  bored  through  the  center  to  admit  a 
stick  or  bar,  which  can  be  used  as  an  axle  in  unreeling 
the  wire.  The  following  table  shows  the  weight  of  wire 
required  for  fencing  the  respective  areas  named  : 


AREA 

LENGTH 

OF 

WEIGHT 

OF  WIRE. 

BOUND  ABT. 

1  Strand. 
LBS. 

3  Strand. 
LBS. 

1  Acre 

60  Rods 

67 

202 

5  Acres  

»/8Mile.   - 

167 

400 

10  Acres  

Va  Mile. 

183 

548 

20  Acres 

»/4  Mile 

273 

820 

40  Acres  

IMile. 

365 

1095 

80  Acres  

I1/,  MUe. 

547 

•1643 

160  Acres 

2  Miles 

730 

2190 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  larger  the  area  enclosed,  the 
smaller  is  the  amount  of  fence  required  per  acre.  The  cost 
of  fence  complete  can  be  estimated  by  adding  to  the 
amount  of  wire  indicated  in  the  last  column,  the  cost  of 


48  FEXCES,  GATES   AND  BRIDGES. 

sixty  posts,  and  three  and  three  quarter  pounds  of  staples, 
for  every  sixty  rods.  To  ascertain  the  weight  of  wire  re- 
quired for  any  desired  number  of  strands,  multiply  the 


Fig.  68. — BBINKEBHOFF  STEEL  STRAP  AND  BABB. 

figures  of  the  first  column  of  "  weight  of  wire  "  by  the 
number  of  strands  proposed  to  be  used. 

There  is  a  kind  of  barb  fencing  in  which  flat  steel 
straps  are  employed  instead  of  wire.  In  the  form  shown 
in  figure  68,  the  barbs  are  bent  around  a  plain  strap  and 
the  whole  is  then  galvanized,  which  firmly  fixes  the  barb. 


Fig.  69.— ALLIS  PATENT  BABB. 

Another  form  shown  at  figure  69  consists  of  a  solid 
piece  of  steel,  ribbed  through  the  middle,  and  with  barbs 
cut  on  both  edges.  These  and  similar  forms  are  more  ex- 
pensive than  wire,  and  are  employed  only  in  limited  quan- 


Fig.  70. — BBINKEBHOFF  FENCING  TWISTED. 

tities  for  enclosing  lawns,  paddocks,  etc.  Still  another 
form  is  like  that  shown  in  figure  70,  without  barbs, 
and  twisted.  This  is  much  used  to  enclose  lawns  and 
ornamental  grounds.  It  is  light,  neat  and  strong,  does 


BAHB-WlftE   FENCE. 


49 


not  harbor  weeds  or  make  snow  drifts,  but  is  compara- 
tively expensive,  as  five  or  six  strands  are  required  to 
make  an  effective  fence. 

Still  another  form  of  unarmed  fencing  is  shown  in 
figure  71.     It  is  simply  the  ordinary  wire  without  barbs, 


Fig.  71. — TWO  STBAND   TWISTED  WIKfi  FENCING. 

and  is  used  in  limited  quantities  for  fencing  ornamental 
grounds,  barnyards,  etc. 


STEEL  FENCE   STAPLES. 

For  fastening  barb  wires  to  the  post  nothing  has  been 
found  so  satisfactory  as  staples  made  for  the  purpose 
from  No.  9  steel  wire.  They  are  cut  with  sharp  points 


Fig.  74. — SQUARE   TOP  STAPLE   FOB  BRINKERHOFF  FENCING. 

to  drive  easily  into  the  posts,  and  are  of  different  lengths, 
from  one  inch  and  a  quarter  to  one  and  three-quarters. 
Figures  72  and  73  show  the  usual  staples  for  wire,  and 
figure  74  a  staple  made  specially  for  strap  fencing. 


50  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 

HOW  TO  SET  BARB  WIRE  FENCE. 

The  timber  for  posts  should  be  cut  when  the  sap  is 
dormant.  Midwinter  or  August  is  a  good  time  to  cut 
post  timber.  They  should  be  split  and  the  bark  taken 
off  as  soon  as  possible  after  cutting  the  timber.  For  end 
posts,  select  some  of  the  best  trees,  about  sixteen  inches 
in  diameter,  from  which  take  cuts  eight  and  a  half  feet 
in  length,  splitting  them  in  quarters  for  brace  posts. 
They  should  be  set  three  feet  in  the  ground,  which  is  eas- 
ily done  with  a  post-hole  digger.  When  setting  the 
brace  posts,  take  a  stone  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet 
long,  twelve  inches  wide,  and  six  inches  thick,  which 
is  put  down  against  the  post  edgewise,  on  the  opposite 


Fig.  75.— WELL-BRACED  BARB-WIRE  FENCE. 

t'Ae  to  the  brace,  as  seen  in  figure  75,  putting  it 
down  about  even  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.  This 
holds  the  post  solid  against  the  brace.  A  heart-rail,  ten 
feet  in  length  makes  a  good  brace.  Put  one  of  the  long 
posts  every  sixteen  or  twenty  rods  along  the  line  of  fence, 
as  they  help  to  strengthen  it,  and  set  lighter  and  shorter 
posts  along  the  line  about  sixteen  feet  apart.  After  the 
posts  are  set,  two  or  three  furrows  should  be  turned 
against  them  on  each  side,  as  it  helps  to  keep  stock  from 
the  wire.  Such  a  fence  should  be  built  of  a  good  height. 
It  is  better  to  buy  an  extra  wire  than  have  stock  injured 
There  is  no  pulling  over  end  posts  or  sagging  wire. 


BARB-WIRE   FENCE.  51 

To  make  an  extra  solid  wire  fence,  brace  the  posts, 
as  shown  in  figure  76,  on  both  sides,  in  order  to 
resist  the  tension  in  eitner  direction.  Every  eighth  post 
should  be  thus  braced,  and  it  makes  a  mark  for  measur- 
ing the  length  of  the  fence,  for  eight  posts  set  one  rod 
apart,  make  eight  rods,  or  a  fortieth  of  a  mile  for  each 
braced  post.  The  braces  are  notched  into  the  top  of 


Fig.  76.— A  WIRE   FENCE  WELL  BBACED. 

the  posts,  just  below  the  top  wire,  and  a  spike  is  driven 
through  both  the  brace  and  the  post.  The  braces  abut 
upon  large  stones  which  give  them  great  firmness. 


UNREELING  AND    STRETCHING   BARB  WIRE. 

The  general  introduction  of  barb  wire  fencing  has 
brought  out  a  great  variety  of  devices  for  handling  the 
wire.  One  of  these  is  shown  in  the  illustrations.  Two 
pieces  of  scantling  are  attached  to  the  rear  end  of  a  wag- 
on from  which  the  box  has  been  removed,  as  shown  in 
figure  77.  A  slot  near  the  end  of  each  admits  the  round 
stick  thrust  through  the  reel  of  barb  wire,  to  serve  as  an 
axle.  The  end  of  the  barb  wire  is  fastened  to  the  fence 
post,  the  team  in  front  of  the  wagon  started  up,  and 


52  I'E-N'CES,   GATES   AKD   BRIDGES. 

some  three  yards  of  wire  unreeled.  Then  the  hind  axle 
of  the  wagon  is  made  fast  by  a  chain  or  rope  to  the  near- 
est fence  post,  the  hind  wheel  nearest  the  fence  lifted 
from  the  ground  and  held  there  by  a  wagon-jack  or  piece 


Fig.  77. — DEVICE  FOB  UN-ROLLING   WIRE. 

of  board.  One  turn  is  then  made  in  the  barb  wire,  as 
shown  at  A,  figure  78,  to  which  is  attached  one  end  of  a 
piece  of  smooth  wire,  some  ten  feet  long.  Tbe  other 
end  is  placed  between  two  screws,  b  b,  in  the  end  of  the 


Fig.  78. — FASTENING  THE  WTBE. 

hub,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.     The  wire  thus  fas- 
tened is  coiled  around  the  hub,  and  the  operator  can 
tighten  it  and  the  barb  wire  to  which  it  is  attached,  by 
employing  the  leverage  of  the  spokes  and  felloes. 
A  lighter  form  of  reel  holder  is  shown  at  figure  79.  It 


Fig.  79. — A  SULKY  WIRE-HOLDEB. 

is  made  of  two  pieces  of  two  by  four  scantlings  fastened 
to  the  axle  of  a  sulky  corn  plow.     They  must  be  placed 


BARB- WIRE    FENCE.  53 

far  enough  apart  to  allow  the  reel  or  spool  to  run  between 
them.  Make  a  square  axle,  figure  80,  of  some  hard 
tough  wood,  rounding  it  where  it  runs  in  the  slots  of  the 


Fig.  80. — THE  AXLE. 

"scantling  ;  drive  it  through  the  hole  in  the  spool,  and  at- 
tach the  crank.  In  moving  fence,  place  the  spool  on  the 
frame  ;  remove  one  end  of  the  wire  from  the  post,  fasten 
it  to  the  spool,  and  while  one  man  holds  the  pole  and 
steers  and  steadies  the  sulky — he  will  have  to  pull  back 
a  little — another  turns  the  spool  and  winds  up  the  wire. 
When  a  corner  is  reached,  the  wire  is  loosened,  the  sul- 
ky turned,  and  the  winding  continued.  "When  the  end 
of  the  wire  is  reached,  it  is  carefully  loosened  from  the 
post,  and  firmly  fastened  to  the  spool. 

It  is  best  to  have  a  separate  spool  for  each  wire,  espec- 
ially if  they  are  of  great  length.  The  same  contrivance 
may  be  used  for  unreeling  the  wire.  Attach  a  gentle 
horse  to  the  sulky,  fasten  the  pole  securely  to  the  hames, 


Fig.  81.— A  SLED  WIBE-HOLDEB. 

and  have  a  boy  lead  him  slowly  along  the  fence  line, 
once  in  fifty  yards  stop  the  horse,  grasp  the  handle,  move 
forward  very  slowly,  and  draw  the  wire  straight  and 
taut.  If  no  sulky  plow  is  at  hand,  a  light  "  double- 
ended"  sled,  shown  in  figure  81,  may  be  used.  A  man 
holds  the  short  pole  extending  from  one  end,  steadying 


54 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BKIDGEJ 


and  pushing  a  little,  while  the  other  winds  the  reel.  The 
sled  is  drawn  forward  by  the  wire  as  it  is  wound  on 
the  reel.  To  unreel,  attach  a  slow  horse  to  a  chain  or 


Fig.  82. — ANOTHER   SLED   FOB  WIRE. 

rope  fastened  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  sled.  A  man 
must  walk  behind  the  horse  and  hold  the  pole  to  steady 
the  sled.  Managed  in  this  way,  the  removal  of  a  barbed 
wire  fence  is  not  at  all  the  formidable  operation  that  has 
been  supposed  ;  it  can  be  taken  down  and  set  up  again, 
easily,  safely,  and  quite  rapidly.  Figure  82  shows  an- 


Fig.  83.— TIGHTENING  THE  WIRE. 

other  form  of  home-made  sled,  which  is  very  useful  for 
carrying  rolls  of  wire  for  making  a  fence.  The  roll  is 
supported  on  a  rod,  which  has  round  ends  to  fit  into  the 
uprights,  and  which  turns  in  the  slots.  When  the  wire 
is  run  out,  the  end  is  fastened  to  the  clevis  on  the  centre 
beam,  and  a  notched  stake,  figure  83,  being  put  under 
the  wire,  the  sled  is  drawn  up  to  tighten  the  wire,  which 


3ARB-WIRE   FENCE. 


55 


is  then  stapled.  This  sled  is  useful  for  many  other  pur- 
poses, and  is  large  enough  to  carry  five  rolls  of  the  wire, 
so  .that  by  going  hack  and  forth,  the  whole  of  the  fence 
can  be  put  up  very  quickly.  It  is  drawn  by  one  horse, 
the  draft  chain  being  fastened  to  the  front  beam. 


WIRE   STRETCHERS. 


For  stretching  barb  wire  there  are  various  implements 
in  the  market,  arid  other  quite  simple  and  effective  de- 
vices can  be  made  on  the  farm.  Figure  84  shows  the 


Fig.  84.— THE  CLABK  STBETCHEK. 

Clark  stretcher  and  the  manner  of  using  it.  Another 
stretcher,  called  the  "  Come  Along"  stretcher,  figure  85, 
is  used  not  only  for  tightening  the  wires,  but  also  for 
handling  it,  in  building  or  moving  fences. 


56  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

The  useful  wire  stretcher,  figure  86,  consists  of    a 
mowing  machine  knife-guard,  bolted  to  a  stout  stick ; 


Fig.  85, 


COME  ALONG"    STRETCHER. 


one  curved,  as  shown  in  the  lower  engraving,  is  prefera- 
ble to  a  straight  one,  as  it  will  not  turn  in  the  hand. 
When  using  it,  the  wire  is  held  firmly  in  the  slot,  and 
may  be  easily  stretched  by  applying  the  stick  as  a  lever. 


Fig.  86. — HOME-MADE  WIRE   STRETCHERS. 

Another  kind  of  a  wire-stretcher  may  be  made  of  hard 
wood  or  of  iron  or  steel  bars.  It  consists  of  three  pieces, 
two  arms  and  a  splicer,  fastened  together  in  the  manner 
shown  in  figure  87,  leaving  a  slot  near  one  end  to 
hold  the  wire.  The  longer  arm  is  made  immovable  upon 
the  splice  by  means  of  two  or  more  heavy  bolts,  while  the 


BARB-WIKE   FENCE.  57 

shorter  arm  is  pivoted  by  one  bolt.  This  allows  the  slot 
to  be  opened  to  receive  the  wire.  The  short  arm  is  sharp- 
ened so  that  it  may  be  stuck  into  a  post,  or  the  side  of 
a  building,  if  convenient.  By  placing  this  lever  behind 
a  post,  one  man  can  stretch  thoroughly  a  long  string  of 
wire.  When  one  man  is  doing  the  work  alone,  he  can 
stretch  the  wire,  fasten  the  lever  back  by  means  of  a  stick 


Fig.  87. 

driven  into  the  ground  before  it,  and  then  go  back  and 
drive  the  staples.  The  short  end  of  the  lever  should  be 
about  twelve  inches  long,  and  the  long  arm  three  or  four 
feet,  or  even  longer. 

The  stretcher  shown  in  figure  88  is  made  of  hard  tough 
wood  or  iron.  The  wire  is  passed  through  the  slot,  the 
barbs  preventing  it  from  slipping.  The  arm  at  right  an- 
gles to  the  lever  is  used  to  measure  the  distance  of  the 
strands.  When  the  lever  is  set  against  the  p«st,  the  arm 


Fig.  88.— STRETCHER  AND  GAUGE. 

rests  on  the  strand  below.  By  sliding  it  up  or  down, 
the  distance  between  the  strands  is  regulated. 

Figure  89  shows  another  stretcher,  that  can  be  made 
by  any  blacksmith.  The  toothed  cam  holds  the  wire  so 
that  it  will  not  slip.  A  block  and  tackle  are  often  found 
useful  to  draw  the  wires  with.  The  rolls  of  wire  are  paid 
out  of  a  wagon  body,  and"  when  the  wire  is  to  be  drawn 
up,  the  grip  is  put  on  at  any  point,  the  tackle  is  at- 
tached, and  one  horse  draws  it  as  tight  as  it  needs  be. 

A  wire  fence  needs  frequent  drawing  up  or  it  sags  and 


58  FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 

becomes  useless.  The  alternate  contraction  and  expan- 
sion caused  by  change  of  temperature  soon  stretch  the 
wire,  to  say  nothing  of  other  causes.  The  cheap  and  ef- 


Fig.  89. — GRIP  FOB  FENCE  WIBE. 

fective  method  employed  by  telegraph  companies  is  illus- 
trated in  figure  90.  It  consists  of  a  pair  of  grip  tongs 
and  a  set  of  small  tackle-blocks.  The  tongs  may  be 
made  by  any  blacksmith,  and  the  blocks  are  sold  at  all 
hardware  and  tool  stores.  An  iron  hook  is  used  to  cou- 


Fig.  90. 

pie  the  tongs  to  the  block,  and  as  the  wire  is  drawn  up, 
the  free  end  of  the  rope  may  be  given  a  turn  around  the 
same  post,  to  hold  it  while  the  staple  is  tightened  to 
hold  the  wire. 


SPLICING   BAEB  WIRES. 


The  accompanying  engravings  show  an  iron  implement 
for  splicing  wire  and  the  manner  of  using  it.  To  make 
this  splicer  take  a  bar  of  half  inch  round  iron,  nine 
inches  long.  Heat  about  three  inches  of  one  end  and 


BARB-WIRE  FENCE.  59 

hammer  it  flat  until  it  is  one  inch  wide.  With  a  cold 
chisel  cut  a  one-fourth  inch  slot  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
from  the  right  side  and  an  inch  deep,  as  seen  in  figure 


Figs.  91  and  93.— THE  SPLICER. 

91.  Bend  the  part  marked  d,  so  that  it  will  be  a  quar- 
ter inch  from  the  flat  part,  as  shown  in  figure  92.  The 
lower  part  of  the  slot  c  should  be  about  a  half  inch  from 
the  bend  at  d.  Smooth  with  a  file.  To  use  it  let  e  and 


Fig.  93.— MAKING  THE  SPLICE. 

/,  figure  93  represent  two  wires  to  be  joined.  Bend  the 
ends  so  they  are  nearly  at  right  angles.  Hold  them 
with  pincers  at  g ;  place  the  hook  of  the  splicer  on  the 
wire/,  while  the  wire  e  falls  into  the  slot.  Twist  the 
pieces  around  the  wire/,  when  one  half  of  the  splice  is 


60  FENCES,  GATES    AND   BRIDGES. 

made.  Repeat  the  operation  for  the  other  end.  Use 
about  four  or  five  inches  of  each  wire  to  twist  around 
the  other.  Another  form  of  splicer,  shown  in  figure  94, 
is  made  of  cast  iron,  and  is  us  3d  in  the  same  manner  as 


Fig.  94.  .  Fig.  95. 

the  first.  Figure  95  shows  the  manner  of  holding  the 
wire  with  nippers  made  for  the  purpose,  and  the  fin- 
ished splice. 


BUILDING  WIRE  FENCES  ON  UNEVEN  GROUND. 

One  of  the  great  perplexities  about  building  wire 
fences  on  rolling  ground,  is  how  to  make  the  posts  in 
the  hollows  remain  firm,  for  the  pull  of  the  wire  in  wet 


Fig.  96. — FENCE  ON  UNEVEN  GBOU>T>. 

weather,  or  when  the  frost  is  coming  out,  lifts  them  and 
causes  the  Avire  to  sag,  and  they  cease  to  be  an  effective 
parrier.  Posts  should  not  be  used  in  the  lowest  depres- 


FENCES  OF  BARB  WIRE  AND  BOARDS.  61 

eions,  but  in  their  place  at  the  lowest  spots  a  heavy  stone 
should  be  partially  sunk  into  the  ground,  about  which  a 
smooth  fence  wire  has  been  wrapped,  as  seen  in  figure  96. 
When  the  fence  is  built,  the  fence  wires  are  brought  down 
to  their  place  and  the  wire  about  the  stone  is  twisted  first 
about  the  lower  wire,  then  the  next,  and  so  on  to  the 
top.  This  prevents  the  wire  from  raising,  and  does  away 
with  all  trouble  of  the  posts  being  pulled  out  by  the 
wires.  In  fencing  across  small  streams  the  same  plan 
is  successful. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FENCES    OF    BARB   WIRE    AND    BOARDS. 
COMBINED   WIRE   AND   BOARD   FENCE. 

A  very  cheap  fence  is  made  of  two  boards  below 
and  three  strands  of  barb  wire.  To  make  the  fence  pig- 
proof  without  the  boards,  five  strands  of  wire,  three  inches 


Fig.  97.— MANNEB   OP  BKACrNG  ENJ>-POST. 

apart,  would  be  required  at  the  bottom.  Two  common 
fencing  boards  will  occupy  the  same  space,  when  placed 
three  inches  apart,  and  cost  less.  But  for  the  upper  part 
of  the  fence,  wire  is  much  cheaper  than  boards.  The 
most  considerable  item  in  this  greater  economy  is  the 
saving  of  posts.  The  wire  requires  a  post  every  sixteen 
feet ;  hence  half  the  posts  are  saved.  A  stout  stake, 


62  FEXCES,  GATES   AJ^D   BRIDGES. 

driven  midway  between  the  posts,  holds  the  center1  of  the 
boards  in  place.  These  stakes  need  extend  only  eighteen 
inches  above  ground.  Posts  that  have  rotted  off  in  the 
ground  will  be  long  enough  for  these  stakes.  Some  say 
that  the  posts  can  be  set  thirty  faet  apart,  but  sixteen 
feet  is  better.  The  posts  should  be  at  least  thirty  inches 
in  the  ground  and  well  tamped.  It  is  easy  to  stretch  the 
wire.  Its  durability  depends  upon  the  quality  of  the 
wire  and  posts,  and  the  proper  setting  of  them.  K"ail 
on  the  two  boards,  three  inches  apart ;  the  first  strand  is 
six  inches  above  the  top  board,  the  second  strand  is 
twelve  inches  above  the  first,  and  the  third  sixteen  in- 
ches above  the  second.  When  banked  up,  as  hereafter 
described,  this  fence  will  turn  all  farm  stock.  An  im- 


Fig.  98. — SECTION   OF  FENCE   COMPLETED. 

portant  point  is  the  bracing  of  the  end-posts.  If  this  be 
neglected  or  improperly  done,  the  fence  will  be  a  failure. 
Figure  97  shows  how  the  end-post  should  be  braced.  It 
should  be  a  large  post  and  set  at  least  three  feet  in  the 
ground.  The  short  post  which  holds  the  lower  end  of 
the  brace,  should  also  be  well  set.  "Wrap  the  wire 
around  the  end-post  several  times,  and  drive  staples 
to  hold  it  on  all  sides.  If  the  line  of  fence  is  more 
than  forty  rods  long,  at  least  two  posts  at  each  end 
should  be  braced.  After  the  posts  are  set,  and  before  at- 
taching the  boards  or  wire,  plow  a  deep  furrow  along 
each  side,  throwing  the  earth  inward.  This  makes  a 
bank  along  the  line,  allowing  the  fence  to  be  several 
inches  higher ;  and  the  furrow  drains  the  water  away 


FENCES   OF   BAKB   WIRE   AND   BOARDS.  63 

from  the  posts,  and  also  restrains  an  animal  that  may  be 
tempted  to  jump  the  fence.  A  section  of  the  completed 
fence  is  shown  in  figure  98.  Do  not  hang  pieces  of  tin, 
etc.,  upon  the  top  strands  of  wire,  as  often  recommended, 
that  the  animals  may  see  the  fence,  and  be  able  to  avoid 
it,  because  it  is  never  necessary. 

A  modification  of  this  combined  fence  is  shown  in  fig- 
ure 99.  It  is  made  of  one  rail  along  the  top,  and 
three  wires  below.  After  setting  the  posts  plow  a  fur- 


Fig.  99. — A  CHEAP  AND  GOOD  FENCE. 

row  two  feet  from  the  posts  on  each  side,  throwing  the 
furrow  slice  towards  the  fence,  and  forming  up  the  ridge 
neatly  with  a  spade  ;  then  stretch  the  three  wires,  and 
nail  a  two  by  four  scantling  edgewise.  To  prevent  an 
unpleasant  sagging  of  the  rails,  the  posts  should  be  eight 
feet  apart,  and  the  rails  sixteen  feet  long.  For  common 
fencing,  good  straight  poles  will  answer  well. 


A   BRACKETED   FENCE. 

The  features  shown  in  figure  100  are  :  first,  in  having 
two  six-inch  boards  at  the  bottom.  Second,  in  placing 
the  wires  very  close  together.  It  being  necessary  to  have 
barbs  only  on  one  side  of  each  space  between  the  wires, 
plain  galvanised  'wire  may  be  used  for  every  alternate 
strand,  thus  greatly  lessening  the  expense.  Third,* by 
the  use  of  strips  and  short  stakes,  the  posts  may  be  placed 
sixteen  feet  apart,  and  the  fence  remain  as  perfect  as  if 
there  were  posts  every  eight  feet.  Fourth,  to  make  the 


64 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BEIDGES. 


fence  man-proof,  make  use  of  a  bracket  of  three-eighth- 
inch  iron,  or  of  one  by  two-inch  wooden  strips.  The 
form  of  the  brackets  is  shown  in  figures  101, 102  and  103. 
A  barb-wire  is  attached  to  the  short  arm  of  the  brackets, 
which  are  fastened  to  the  posts  in  such  a  manner  as  to 


Fig.  100.—  ONE  PANEL  OF  IMPROVED  WIRE  FENCE. 

stretch  two  wires  on  the  same  horizontal  plane,  and  fif- 
teen inches  apart.  The  material  required  for  each  panel 
of  the  fence  shown  in  figure  100,  are:  Two  posts,  three 
barb-wires,  two  plain  wires  of  No.  12  galvanized  iron, 
two  six-inch  boards,  sixteen  feet  long,  three  stakes  about 
three  feet  long,  and  sharpened  at  one  end,  four  strips, 
four  feet  long  and  one  and  one-half-inch  square.  To 
build  the  fence:  Lay  off  the  ground  by  setting  small  pegs 
eight  feet  apart,  then  dig  the  holes,  and  set  the  posts  at 


Fig.  101. — IRON  BRACKET. 

every  fourth  peg.  Drive  the  sharpened  stakes  into  the 
ground  at  the  three  pegs  between  the  posts,  so  that  the 
top  of  the  stakes  will  be  nineteen  inches  above  the 
pronnd.  Nail  the  boards  on  the  first  stake  near  the 


FEKCES   OF  BARB    WIRE  AND   BOARDS.  65 

ground,  and  the  second  one  three  inches  above  the  first. 
Then  mark  off  the  place  for  each  wire  on  the  first  post, 
fasten  the  bottom  wire,  and  put  up  as  far  as  the  first 
stretching  post;  then  add  the  other  wires,  using  first  a 
barb-wire,  and  then  a  smooth  one.  The  wires  should  be 
fastened  to  the  posts  with  long  staples.  The  strips  are 
to  go  in  the  middle  of  the  eight  foot  spaces;  they  should 
not  quite  touch  the  ground;  fasten  them  to  the  boards 


Fig.  103.— ATTACHED  BRACKET.     Fig.  103.— WOODEH  BBACKET. 

with  nails  and  to  the  wire  with  short  staples.  These 
strips  can  be  made  of  poles  or  saplings,  and  the  stakes  of 
short  or  crooked  pieces  from  the  posts.  To  attach  the 
man-proof  part:  If  the  brackets  are  of  wood,  nail  them 
to  the  posts,  sawing  off  the  horizontal  arm  to  fifteen 
inches  from  the  top  wire,  as  in  figure  103  ;  stretch  the 
wire  and  fasten  to  the  end.  If  the  brackets  are  of  iron 
figure  102,  spike  the  horizontal  arm  to  the  top  of  the 
post,  then  put  up  the  barb-wire  loose  under  the  oblique 
arm,  and  stretch  it.  Then  spike  the  foot  of  the  oblique 


66  FENCES,   GATES  AND  BKIDGES. 

arm  to  the  post,  and  slip  the  wire  into  the  angle,  and 
close  the  bracket  by  closing  the  arms  on  the  wire. 
Figure  102  shows  the  method  of  attaching  the  iron 
bracket  to  the  post. 


DOG-PROOF   FENCES. 

Figure  104  shows  a  sheep-yard  fence,  built  of  wire  and 
boards,  as  a  safeguard  against  vicious  dogs.     It  consists  of 


Kg.  KM. — A  FENCE  AGAINST  BOOS. 

ordinary  posts,  and  three  lengths  of  boards,  with  an 
equal  number  of  barb-wires  for  the  upper  portion,  and  a 
single  strand  placed  near  the  ground.  The  sheep  are  in 
no  danger  of  injuring  themselves  with  such  a  fence,  and 
it  is  an  effective  barrier  to  blood-thirsty  dogs. 

Figure  105  shows  a  cheaper  fence  for  the  same  pur- 
pose.    It  has  one  strand  of  barb  wire  below  the  boards, 


Fig.  105. — A  CHEAPER  FENCE. 

which  prevents  attempts  of  dogs  to  dig  under  it. 
For  fencing  sheep  against  dogs,  the  "  thick-set "  barb 
wire  is  the  most  effective  of  any. 


CHAPTEE    VIL 

HEDGES. 
THE   BEST  HEDGE   PLANTS. 

The  first  emigrants  from  England  to  the  American 
shores  brought  .with  them  memories  of  green  hedge-rows, 
like  those  which  still  adorn  the  motherland.  But  they 
found  the  country  whither  they  had  come  covered  with 
a  dense  growth  of  timber,  which  furnished  abundant 
material  "for  fences.  Hedges  were  almost  unknown  in 
this  country  until  after  civilization  had  reached  the  tree- 
less prairies.  Then,  the  want  of  fencing  material  turned 
attention  to  hedges,  and  they  became  so  popular  that 
many  miles  of  them  were  planted,  not  only  in  the  prairie 
region,  but  also  in  the  more  eastern  States,  where  cheaper 
fencing  material  was  plenty.  Now  the  invention  of 
barbed  wire  supplies  a  material  so  cheap  an'd  easily  put 
in  place,"  that  hedges  have  ceased  to  be  regarded  as 
economical  for  general  farm  purposes.  But  they  have 
by  no  means  gone  wholly  out  of  use.  As  a  boundary 
fence,  especially  upon  the  roadside,  there  is  much  to  be 
said  in  favor  of  the  hedge.  Nothing  gives  a  neighbor- 
hood such  a  finished  rural  aspect,  as  to  have  the  roads 
bordered  by  hedges.  The  grounds  around  the  summer 
cottages  on  the  New  Jersey  coast,  and  other  popular  sum- 
mer resorts,  are  lai'gely  enclosed  with  hedges.  For  in- 
terior divisions,  as  they  cannot  be  removed,  they  are  not 
to  be  commended.  An  orchard,  the  most  permanenb  of 
all  the  plantations  upon  the  farm,  may  be  appropriately 
enclosed  by  a  live  fence.  Hedges  are  either  protective 
barriers,  really  live  fences,  or  merely  ornamental.  In 
properly  regulated  communities,  where  cattle  are  not  al- 
(67) 


68  JE3TCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

lowed  to  run  at  large,  the  roadside  hedge  may  be  orna- 
mental, while  one  around  an  orchard  should  be  able  to 
keep  out  animals  and  other  intruders.  After  many  ex- 
periments and  failures,  the  Osage  Orange  (Madura 
aurantiaca),  has  been  found  to  make  the  best  hedges. 
Being  a  native  of  Arkansas,  it  has  been  found  to  be  hardy 
much  farther  Xorth,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
useful  hedge  plant  in  all  localities  where  the  winter  is 
not  severe.  "Where  the  Osage  Orange  is  not  hardy, 
Buckthorn,  Japan  Quince  and  Honey  Locust  are  the  best 
substitutes.  Honey  Locust  is  a  most  useful  hedge-plant, 
as  it  is  readily  raised  from  seed,  grows  rapidly,  bears 
cutting  well,  and  in  a  few  years  will  make  a  barrier  that 
will  turn  the  most  violent  animal. 


PLANTING  AND  CARE  OF  OSAGE  HEDGES. 

The  first  requisite  for  a  hedge  of  any  kind  is  to  secure 
thrifty  plants  of  uniform  size.  Osage  Orange  plants  are 
raised  from  seeds  by  nurserymen,  and  when  of  the  right 


Fig.  106. — BADLY  PLOWED  GROUND. 

size,  should  be  taken  up  in  autumn  and  "heeled  in." 
The  ground,  which  it  is  proposed  to  occupy  by  the 
hedge,  should  be  broken  up  in  autumn  and  then  re- 
plowed  in  spring,  unless  it  is  a  raw  prairie  sod,  which 
should  be  broken  a  year  before  the  hedge  is  planted.  It 
is  a  very  usual,  but  very  bad  practice,  to  plow  a  ridge 
with  a  back-furrow,  as  shown  in  figure  106.  This  leaves 
an  unplowed  strip  of  hard  soil  directly  under  the  line 
upon  which  the  hedge  is  to  stand.  "When  harrowed,  it 
appears  very  fair  on  the  surface,  but  it  is  useless  to  ex- 


HEDGES. 


09 


pect  young  plants  to  thrive  on  such  a  bed  of  hard  soil, 
and  its  result  will  be  as  seen  in  figure  107.  The  first 
growth  is  feeble,  irregular,  and  many  vacant  spots  ap- 


Fig.  107. — HEDGE   PLANT   ON  HARD   RIDGE. 

pear.  The  land  should  be  plowed  as  in  figure  108.  When 
the  sod  is  rotted,  the  land  should  be  harrowed  lengthwise 
of  the  furrows,  and  the  dead  furrow  left  in  the  first 


Fig.  108. — PROPERLY  PLOWED  GROUND. 

plowing  closed  by  twice  turning  back  the  ridge.  There 
is  then  a  deep,  mellow,  well-drained  bed  for  the  plants 
in  which  the  roots  have  room  to  grow  and  gather  ample 
nutrition.  Figure  109  shows  the  effect  of  this  kind  of 


Fig.  109. — HEDGE  PLANT  IN  MELLOW  SOIL. 

cultivation.  As  a  barrier  against  stock,  or  a  windbreak,  it 
is  best  to  plant  in  double  rows,  each  row  being  set  oppo- 
site the  spaces  in  the  other,  thus :  *  *  *  *  * 

*       #       *     *     * 

It  is  highly  desirable  that  the  hedge  should  be  in  true, 
uniform  rows,  either  straight  or  in  regular  curves. 
This  can  be  done  only  by  setting  closely  to  a  line.  Osage 
Orange  plants  may  be  raised  from  seed,  but  as  this  is  a 


70 


FENCES,    GATES    AND    BUI  DOES. 


difficult  operation,  it  is  usually  best  to  buy  young  plants 
from  a  reliable  nurseryman.  They  are  best  cut  down  to 
about  six  inches  high,  and  the  roots  partially  trimmed. 
It  is  an  advantage  to  "puddle"  the  roots,  which  is  done 
by  dipping  them  in  a  mixture  composed  of  one-half 
earth  and  half  fresh  manure  from  the  cow  stable,  wet 
to  the  consistency  of  a  thin  paste.  There  are  various 
methods  of  setting  the  plants.  Some  use  a  trowel  with 
a  blade  about  ten  inches  long ;  others  a  dibble,  and  a 
larger  number  than  either  of  the  others,  a  spade.  For 
setting  long  lines,  in  situations  where  appearances  are  of 


Fig.  110.— EFFECT  OF  CULTIVATION. 

secondary  importance,  young  Osage  plants  are  set  very 
rapidly  by  running  a  furrow  where  the  rows  are  to  stand, 
laying  the  plants  with  their  roots  spread  on  the  mellow 
soil,  one  side  of  the  furrow.  A  furrow  is  next  turned 
upon  the  roots,  and  the  plants  which  may  have  been  dis- 
arranged are  restored  by  hand.  A  tread  of  the  foot  will 
consolidate  the  earth  around  each  plant.  Unless  the 
subsoil  is  naturally  very  porous,  the  ground  must  be 
thoroughly  underd rained.  A  line  of  tiles  should  be  laid 
six  or  eight  feet  from  the  line  of  the  hedge.  The  ground 
for  four  or  five  feet  on  either  side  of  the  hedge,  should 
be  kept  thoroughly  cultivated  the  first  three  or  four 
years  after  planting.  This  cultivation  is  to  be  done 
early  each  season  and  cease  the  first  of  July,  to  give  the 


HEDGES.  71 

new  wood  a  chance  to  ripen.  The  plants  should  be  per- 
mitted to  grow  the  first  year  undisturbed.  The  following 
spring,  the  hedge  should  be  cut  off  close  to  the  ground 
with  a  scythe  or  mowing  machine,  and  all  vacancies 
where  plants  have  died  out  or  been  thrown  out  by  frost, 
should  be  filled.  The  ground  on  both  sides  of  the  ridge 
is  to  be  kept  well  cultivated.  Figure  110  shows  the  dif- 
ference in  root  growth  in  cultivated  and  uncultivated 
ground. 

A  thick  growth  of  young  shoots  will  appear,  and 
these  are  to  be  cut  back  to  four  inches  high,  the  middle 
of  summer  and  again  in  September.  The  object  is  to 
obtain  a  dense  growth  close  to  the  ground.  The  third 
year  the  pruning  is  to  be  repeated,  only  the  shoots  must 
be  left  four  to  six  inches  above  the  last  previous  cutting. 
The  lateral  shoots  which  are  near  the  ground,  are  to  be 
left  undisturbed.  The  trimming  should  be  such  as  to 
leave  the  hedge  broad  at  the  base,  with  a  regular  slope  to 
the  summit  like  a  double-span  roof. 

Another  method  is  to  permit  the  hedge  to  grow  un- 
trimmed  for  four  or  five  years.  It  is  then  plashed,  or 


Fig.  111. — HEDGE   "  PLASHED." 

laid  over  sidewise.  This  is  done  by  cutting  the  plants 
about  half  through  on  one  side  with  a  sharp  axe,  and 
bending  them  over  as  shown  in  figure  111.  The  hedge 
is  first  headed  back  and  trimmed  up  to  reduce  the  top. 
In  a  short  time  new  shoots  will  spring  from  the  stubs  and 
stems,  making  a  dense  growth  of  interlacing  stems  and 


72  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

branches.  Another  method  of  laying  a  hedge,  is  to  dig 
away  a  few  inches  of  earth  on  one  side  of  each  plant  to 
loosen  the  roots,  then  lay  the  plant  over  to  the  desired 
angle  and  fasten  it  there.  The  earth  is  then  replaced 
around  the  roots,  and  tread  down  firmly.  We  believe 
that  a  patent  is  claimed  for  this  process,  but  its  validity 
is  seriously  questioned. 

It  is  essential  that  hedges,  whether  planted  for  orna- 
ment or  utility,  shall  be  kept  in  shape  by  trimming 
every  year.  It  is  less  labor  to  trim  a  hedge  three  times 
during  the  year,  when  the  branches  are  small  and  soft, 
than  once  when  the  branches  have  made  a  full  season's 
growth.  If  the  hedge  is  trimmed  once  in  June  and 
again  in  August,  it  will  be  kept  in  good  shape,  and  the 
labor  will  be  less  than  if  the  trimming  was  put  off  until 
spring.  In  August  the  branches  can  be  cut  with  shears 
or  a  sharp  corn  knife.  The  foliage  on  them  will  aid  in 
their  burning,  when  they  have  dried  a  few  days  in  the 
sun.  The  thorns  are  not  so  hard  as  in  the  spring.  The 
brush  will  be  less,  and  on  account  of  their  pliability  and 
greater  weight,  will  pack  into  the  heap  much  better.  If 
trimmed  in  August,  the  hedge  will  not  make  any  con- 
siderable growth  during  the  fall.  August  trimming  does 
not  injure  the  hedge,  rather  helps  it,  as  it  tends  to  ripen 
the  wood,  preventing  a  late  Autumn  growth  to  be  injured 
by  the  winter.  The  loss  of  sap  is  less  than  when  the 
trimming  is  done  in  the  early  spring,  as  then  the  wounds 
are  larger,  and  do  not  heal  before  the  sap  flows.  Do  not 
neglect  to  burn  the  brush  as  soon  as  it  has  dried  suffi- 
ciently. If  allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground,  it  will  har- 
bor mice  and  other  vermin.  Trim  the  hedge  in  August 
and  burn  the  brush.  The  trimming  should  be  done  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  expose  the  greater  amount  of  foliage 
to  the  direct  action  of  the  light,  air,  rain  and  dew.  This 
is  attained  by  keeping  the  sides  at  every  trimming  in  the 
form  of  sloping  walls  from  the  broad  base  to  the  summit 


HEDGES.  73 

like  a  double-span  roof.  They  are  sometimes  trimmed 
with  vertical  sides  and  broad,  flat  top,  but  this  is  not  a 
favorable  plan  for  permanency.  The  lower  leaves  and 
stems  die  outj  leaving  an  unsightly  open  bottom  of  naked 
stems,  with  a  broad  roof  of  foliage  above.  Such  trim- 
ming and  its  results  have  done  much  to  bring  hedges 
into  disrepute. 


HEDGES   FOR  THE   SOUTH. 

The  Osage  Orange  is  a  native  of  the  Southwestern 
States,  and  flourishes  on  good  soil  anywhere  in  the  South. 
Yet  there  are  certain  succulent  plants  which  grow  so 
rapidly  in  the  South,  and  require  so  little  care,  that 
they  are  very  successfully  employed  for  hedges  in  the 
Gulf  States.  One  of  these  if  the  Yucca  yloriosa,  or 


Fig.  112. — CACTUS  HEDGE. 

Spanish  Bayonet.  Its  natural  habit  of  growth  is  to  pro- 
duce a  dense  mass  of  leaves  on  a  long  stem.  But  by  cut- 
ting back  the  growth  of  the  stiff,  armed  leaves  is  pro- 
duced low  down,  and  a  hedge  of  this  soon  becomes  an 
impassable  barrier.  Large  panicles  of  beautiful  white 
blossoms  are  produced  at  the  summit,  making  such  a 
hedge  very  ornamental  during  the  flowering  season. 
Various  species  of  cactus  are  also  employed  in  the  South- 
west for  hedges.  In  some  of  the  Middle- Western  States 
may  be  seen  a  hedge  like  figure  112.  At  some  distance 
from  the  highway,  a  field  had  been  enclosed  with  the 
tree  cactus,  which  there  grows  only  from  four  to  ten  feet 


74  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

high.  The  plants  that  were  in  the  line  of  the  fence  were 
left  growing,  and  those  cleared  from  the  field  were  woven 
into  a  formidable  barrier  to  anything  larger  than  a  rab- 
bit. While  no  two  rods  in  this  fence  are  alike,  its 
general  appearance  is  like  that  shown  in  the  engraving. 


ORNAMENTAL  HEDGES   AND   SCREENS. 

Hedges  and  screens  for  ornamental  purposes  alone,  do 
not  come  strictly  within  the  scope  of  this  work,  but  we 
will  briefly  mention  a  few  desirable  plants  for  the  pur- 


Fig.  113.— BRANCH  OF  JAPAN  QUINCE.      Fig.  114. — FRUIT  AND  FLOWER. 

pose.  The  Japan  Quince,  Cydonia  Japonica,  of  which 
figures  113  and  114  show  a  branch,  flower  and  fruit,  is 
one  of  the  best  deciduous  plants  for  an  ornamental 
hedge.  It  will  grow  in  almost  any  soil;  if  left  to  itself 
it  forms  a  dense,  strong  bush,  but  it  may  be  clipped  or 
trained  into  any  desired  form.  Its  leaves  are  of  dark 
glossy  green,  they  come  early  in  spring  and  remain  until 
late  in  Autumn,  This  is  one  of  the  earliest  shrubs  to 


PORTABLE   FENCES   AND   HUEDLES.  75 

bloom  in  spring ;  its  flowers  are  generally  intense  scarlet, 
though  there  are  varieties  with  white,  rose-colored,  or 
salmon-colored  flowers.  A  hedge  of  this  plant  is  not 
only  highly  ornamental,  but  its  abundant  thorns  make 
a  good  barrier.  Privet,  Ligustrum  vulgare,  makes  a 
very  neat  screen,  but  will  not  bear  severe  cutting  back, 
and  is  therefore  suitable  only  for  grounds  of  sufficient 
extent  to  admit  of  its  being  allowed  to  make  unre- 
strained growth.  The  common  Barberry,  Berleris  vul- 
garis,  also  makes  an  exceedingly  pretty  screen  in  time, 
but  it  is  of  slow  growth.  The  Buffalo  Berry,  Sheperdid 
argentea,  has  been  tried  for  hedges,  but  for  some  reason 
it  has  never  attained  any  popularity.  In  the  Southern 
States,  the  Cherokee  Rose  has  been  found  quite  success- 
ful for  the  purpose,  and  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  hedge 
can  exceed,  in  striking  effect,  one  of  these  in  full  bloom. 
For  evergreen  screens  nothing  is  better  than  the  Hemlock, 
Tsuga  Canadensis.  The  Norway  Spruce  is  of  rapid 
growth  and  bears  cutting  well.  The  Arbor  Vitae,  Thuja 
occidentalis,  is  also  very  successfully  employed  for  the 
purpose. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

PORTABLE  FENCES  AND  HURDLES. 
PORTABLE   BOARD   FENCES. 

Figure  118  shows  a  very  strong  and  secure  board  fence, 
composed  entirely  of  ordinary  fence  boards.  The  trian- 
gular frames,  which  serve  as  posts,  are  each  of  two  pieces 
of  inch  boards,  crossed  and  braced  as  shown  in  figure  115. 
The  panels,  figure  117,  are  sixteen  feet  long,  each  com- 
posed of  four  boards,  six  inches  wide.  The  space  between 


,G  FEXCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

the  lower  two  boards  is  two  and  a  half  inches,  second 
space  three  and  a  half  inches.  A  convenient  way  of 
making  the  panels  is  to  use  three  horses,  like  that  shown 
in  figure  116,  the  length  of  each  being  equal  to  the  total 


Fig.  115.«-THE  POSTS. 

width  of  the  panel,  and  the  three  short  upright  strips 
marking  the  respective  spaces  between  the  boards.  The 
top  is  covered  with  iron  to  clinch  the  nails  used  in  put- 
ting the  panel  together.  The  boards  are  laid  on  these 
horses,  and  the  upright  cross-pieces  nailed  on.  The  second 
board  from  the  top  of  each  panel  is  notched  at  both  ends, 
as  shown  in  figure  117.  A  good  way  to  make  the  trian- 


Flg.  116.—"  HORSES  "   FOR  MAKETO  THE  FENCE. 

gular  frames  alike,  is  to  cut  the  pieces  by  a  uniform  pat- 
tern. Then  make  one  frame  of  the  size  and  form  de- 
sired, and  at  each  of  the  three  places  where  they  are 
nailed  together,  fasten  a  plate  of  iron,  thick  enough  to 
prevent  the  penetration  of  a  common  wrought  nail  driven 
against  it.  Now  lay  this  pattern  frame  on  the  floor  with 


PORTABLE   FEHCES  AtfD   HURDLES. 


7? 


the  iron  bolts  uppermost.  Then  lay  three  pieces  on  this 
in  exactly  the  right  position,  drive  wrought  nails  through 
the  two  pieces  and  against  the  iron  plates,  which  will 
clinch  the  nails  firmly  as  fast  as  they  are  driven.  This 
will  enable  the  man  to  nail  the  frames  together  quite 


Fig.  117.— A  SINGLE  PANEL. 

rapidly.  In  setting  up  the  fence,  each  triangular  frame 
supports  the  ends  of  two  panels.  The  upper  and  lower 
boards  of  each  panel  interlock  with  the  frame,  as  shown 
in  figure  118,  making  a  very  strong  fence.  On  open 
prairie  or  other  wind-swept  situations,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  stake  down  some  of  the  frames,  to  prevent  their 
blowing  over.  This  is  quickly  done  by  sharpening  pieces 


Fig.  118. — THE   FENCE  IN   POSITION. 

of  inch  boards,  twelve  inches  long,  and  one  inch  wide, 
and  driving  one  beside  the  foot  of  the  triangle,  where  it 
rests  on  the  ground,  and  putting  an  eight-penny  nail 
through  both. 


PORTABLE   FENCES   OF  POLES   OR  WIBE. 

Figures  119   and  120  show  styles  of  portable  fences, 
which  are  used  to  some  extent  m  the  territories.     The 


70  FENCES,  GATES   AND  BRIDGES. 

base  of  each  is  the  half  of  a  small  log,  split  through 
the  center.  For  the  fence  shown  in  figure  119,  two 
augur  holes  are  bored  a  few  inches  apart,  and  small  poles 
driven  to  serve  as  posts.  Rails  or  round  poles  of  the 
usual  length  are  laid  to  the  desired  height,  and  the  top 


Fig.  119. — PORTABLE  POLE  FENCE. 

of  the  posts  tied  together  with  wire.  In  situations 
where  timber  is  less  plentiful,  a  single  stake  is  set  into 
the  base,  as  in  figure  120,  braced,  and  barbed  or  plain  wire 
attached  by  staples.  Besides  the  advantage  of  being 


Fig.  130.— PORTABLE  WIRE  FENCE. 

easily  moved,  these  fences  can  be  prepared  in  winter, 
wh«n  there  is  little  else  to  do,  and  rapidly  set  in  place  at 
any  time  when  the  ground  is  clear  of  snow. 

Figure  121  is  a  fence  made  of  either  sawed  stuff,  or  of 
rails  or  poles,  having  their  ends  flattened  and  bored.  An 
iron  rod,  or  piece  of  gas-pipe,  any  where  from  half  an 
inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter,  is  run  through  the  holes, 
and  through  a  base  block  into  the  ground  as  far  as  nee- 


PORTABLE   FEKCES  AND   HURDLES.  79 

essary.  A  round  stick  of  tough  durable  wood,  an  inch 
or  more  in  diameter,  will  answer.  The  size  of  this  rod 
and  its  strength  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  zigzag 


Fig.  121. — PORTABLE  FENCE  OF  POLES  OK  BAILS. 

that  is  given  to  the  lengths.  If  the  corners  are  one  foot 
on  each  side  of  a  central  line,  the  fence  firmly  held  to- 
gether by  the  rods,  will  in  effect  stand  on  a  two  feet  wide 
base.  Less  than  this  would  perhaps  sometimes  answer, 
and  there  are  no  sharp  corners,  or  deep  recesses  for 
weeds  and  rubbish. 


PORTABLE  FEKCES  FOR  WINDBREAKS. 

A  fence  that  can  be  easily  moved  and  quickly  set  up  is 
shown  in  figure  122.     It  consists  of  panels  made  of  strips 


Fig.  122.— PORTABLE   FENCE. 


80  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 

eight  or  ten  feet  long,  nailed  to  two  by  four  posts,  which 
are  beveled  to  a  sharp  corner  at  the  lower  end.  These 
panels  are  supported  by  posts,  placed  as  shown  in  the  en- 
graving, and  pinned  to  the  fence  posts  by  wooden  pins, 
driven  in  by  a  light  mallet.  The  panels  are  light  and 
can  be  loaded  upon  a  wagon  from  which  the  sides  and 
ends  of  the  box  are  removed.  A  box  of  pins  and  the 
mallet  are  all  the  tools  required  to  set  up  the  fence.  This 
fence  is  not  easily  overthrown  by  the  wind,  which  holds 
it  down  firmly  when  blowing  on  the  face  of  it.  For  this 
reason  in  windy  localities,  the  fence  should  be  set  facing 
the  windy  quarter. 

Another  good  form  of  movable  fence  is  seen  in  fig- 
ure 123.     It  is  made  of  common  fence-boards,  securely 


Fig.  123.— KAIUtOAD 

nailed  on  very  light  posts  or  on  the  edge  of  narrow  boards 
and  braced  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  This  style  of 
panel  is  largely  employed  by  railroads  as  windbreaks  i  i 
winter  to  keep  the  tracks  from  becoming  covered  with 
drifted  snow.  It  is  equally  convenient  on  the  farm,  when 
a  temporary  inclosure  is  needed. 


PORTABLE   POULTRY   FENCES. 

It  is  often  very  convenient  when  poultry  are  inclosed 
during  the  growing  season,  to  have  a  fence  for  the  hen- 
yard  which  can  be  readily  moved  from  place  to  place. 
The  illustration,  Figure  124,  shows  one  of  these.  Cut 
the  posts  the  same  length  as  the  pickets,  and  to  the  inner 


POKTABLE   FEXCES   AXD   HURDLES. 


81 


side  of  each  attach  two  strong  iron  hoops  bent  into  a 
semi-circle,  one  near  the  bottom  and  the  other  half  way 
up.  Through  these  hoops  drive  stakes  fitted  to  fill  them 


n  n  n  n 


n  n  n  n 


Fig.  124.— PORTABLE  POULTRY  FENCE. 

closely,  with  sharpened  points  for 'easily  entering  the 
ground.  When  removing  the  fence  the  posts  can  be 
slipped  off. 

Turkeys,  even  when  they  have  attained  a  considerable 
size,  should  be  shut  up  until  after  the  dew  is  off  the 
grass,  and  other  fowls  must  be  confined  in  limited  runs, 


Fig.  125.— MOVABLE  FENCE  FOE   TUBKETS. 

while  the  young  are  small.  It  is  quite  an  advantage  if 
these  runs  can  be  changed  easily,  and  this  can  be  accom- 
plished only  when  they  are  enclosed  in  a  light  movable 


82  FENCES,  GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 

fence.  Such  a  fence  is  shown  in  figure  125,  on  preceding 
page.  It  is  made  in  twelve  or  sixteen  feet  sections  by 
nailing  laths  to  light  pieces  of  the  proper  length.  The 
upper  end  of  the  laths  is  sharpened  ;  the  end  ones  are  of 


Fig.  126.— CROSS-SECTION  OF  MOVABLE  'FENCE. 

double  thickness.  The  sections  are  placed  with  the  end- 
laths  intercrossing  at  the  top,  and  about  six  inches  apart 
at  the  bottom,  as  in  cross-section,  figure  126.  They  are 
held  apart  by  blocks,  figure  127,  which  rest  on  the  upper 
edges  of  the  cross-pieces  and  against  the  laths.  They 
are  held  together,  and  to  the  ground,  by  stakes  driven 
against  the  outer  side  of  the  end  laths.  As  these  stakes 
have  the  same  angle  as  the  laths,  they  hold  the  sections 
together,  and  also  the  fence  in  its  place  and  down  to  the 
ground.  The  triangular  space  where  the  sections  join  is 


Fig.  127.— CROSS-BLOCK  FOR  FENCE. 

closed  by  a  lath  driven  in  the  ground  or  tacked  to  the 
block  between  the  cross-pieces.  Corners  must  be  formed 
of  two  sections  inclined  inward,  and  in  the  same  way 
that  sections  are  joined.  The  stakes  are  readily  with- 


PORTABLE   FENCES   AND   HURDLES. 


83 


drawn,  and  the  sections  are  so  light  that  they  are  easily 
handled. 


PORTABLE    FOLDING   FENCE. 


A  very  convenient  form  of  portable  fence  or  hurdle  is 
illustrated    in    figures    128,  129  and  180,   which  was 


Fig.  130. — AS   A  SIDE  HILL  FENCE. 

brought  out  some   tive  or   six  years  ago.      It  may  be 
constructed  with  two  or  three  -upright  pieces  of  two- 


£4  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

by-four-inch  scantling,  and  four  bars,  figure  128,  held 
together  by  carriage  bolts  in  such  a  manner,  that  each 
panel  can  be  closed  when  desired,  as  a  parallel  ruler 
is  folded  together.  As  the  bars  are  on  alternate  sides, 
the  panel,  when  closed,  takes  up  the  space  of  two 
bars  only,  figure  129.  The  fence  may  easily  be  re- 
moved, and  fits  itself  to  rolling  ground  or  side -hill,  as 
shown  in  figure  130.  When  in  position  it  may  be  sup- 
ported by  stakes  of  the  same  thickness  as  the  upright 
bars,  and  driven  close  beside  them. 


TEMPORARY  WIRE  AND    IRON  FENCES. 

Several  Kinds  of  wire  and  iron  fences  are  used  in 
France  to  make  temporary  enclosures  for  exhibition  pur- 
poses. Two  forms  are  illustrated  herewith.  Figure  131 


Fig.  131.— TEMPORARY  WIRE   FENCE. 

is  made  of  plain  iron  wire  with  cast  or  wrought  iron  posts. 
Each  post  has  a  plate  on  its  lower  end,  which  is  set 
eighteen  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the 
earth  filled  in  compactly  about  it.  The  front  of  the  en- 
graving shows  the  holes  in  section,  with  the  plates.  The 
top  strand  is  a  wire  rope  made  by  twisting  several  strands 
together.  The  fence  seejiat  figure  132  is  made  of  narrow 


FENCES   FOR   STREAMS  AND   GULLIES. 


85 


strips  of  sheet  iron  attached  to  iron  posts  driven  into  the 
ground.  The  gate,  like  that  of  the  other  form,  is  pro- 
vided with  small  wheels,  which  run  on  a  track.  The  two 
fences  may  be  modified  by  using  wooden  posts  sharpened 


Fig.  132,— TEMPOBABY   IEON  FENCE. 

at  the  lower  end,  and  driven  into  the  ground,  then  fas- 
tening to  them  with  suitable  staples  strips  of  rather 
broad  hoop  iron  at  the  top,  with  plain  wire  below. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


FENCES  FOR  STREAMS  AND  GULLIES. 


FLOOD  FENCES. 

In  a  situation  where  a  line  of  fence  crosses  a  stream  or 
a  gully  liable  to  be  flooded,  it  is  necessary  to  make  special 
provision  for  it.  A  fence  extending  down  near  the  sur- 
face and  sufficiently  rigid  to  withstand  the  current, 
would  arrest  the  drift  wood  and  other  objects  floated 
down  on  the  flood,  and  soon  become  a  dam.  The  right 
kind  of  a  fence  must  therefore  yield  to  the  force 
of  the  flood,  and  renew  its  position,  or  be  easily  re- 


86  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

placed  after  it  has  subsided.  Figure  133  is  a  very  ef- 
fectual flood-gate  for  a  running  stream.  The  posts,  B,  B, 
are  firmly  set  on  the  bank,  and  a  stick  of  timber,  A,  mor- 


Fig.  133. — STBONG  FLOOD-GATE. 

tised  on  the  top  of  them.  The  three  uprights,  0,  C,  C, 
are  hinged  to  the  cross-timber,  and  the  boards,  F,  fas- 
tened in  place  by  tenpenny  steel  fence  nails.  The  gate 
easily  swings  with  the  current,  D.  Figure  134  shows  a 
form  which  operates  in  a  similar  manner  like  the  other. 


Fig.  134. — A  CHEAPER  FLOOD-GATE. 

It  consists  of  two  stout  posts,  five  feet  high,  bearing  a 
heavy  cross-bar,  rounded  at  each  end,   and  fitted  into 


FENCES   FOR   STREAMS   A^D   GULLIES.  87 

sockets,  in -which  the  bar  with  gate  attached  can  swing. 
The  construction  of  the  gate  is  easily  seen  from  the 
engraving. 

The  above  forms  are  .self-acting,  and  swing  back  to 
their  places  as  the  water  subsides.  For  larger  streams, 
it  is  necessary  to  construct  fences  that  give  way  before 
the  flood,  and  can  be  brought  into  position  again  when  it 
is  over.  One  of  these,  for  a  stream  which  is  liable  to 
bring  down  much  drift  wood,  is  shown  in  figure  135. 


Fig.  135.— FENCE  FOB  A  FOREST  STREAM. 

The  logs  are  the  tranks  of  straight  trees,  about  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter,  which  are  hewed  on  two  sides  ;  posts 
are  mortised  in  each  of  these  logs,  and  on  them  planks 
are  firmly  nailed.  The  logs  are  then  linked  together 
with  inch  iron  rods,  and  the  first  one  connected  by  means 
of  a  long  link  to  a  tree  or  'post  firmly  set  in  the  ground 
upon  the  banks  of  the  stream.  The  links  must  all  work 
freely.  When  high  water  occurs,  the  fence  is  washed 
around  and  left  on  the  bank ;  after  the  water  has  sub- 
sided sufficiently,  the  logs  may  be  dragged  back  to  their 
places,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  by  means  of  a  horse, 


88 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


hitched  to  a  staple  in  the  end  of  the  log.  Figure  136 
shows  a  lighter  fence  made  of  poles  or  rails,  held  by  in- 
terlinking staples  to  the  posts  on  the  side  of  the  stream. 
As  the  floods  come  down,  the  rails  are  washed  from  the 


Fig.  136.— FENCE  OF  MOVABLE  BAILS. 

center,  and  float  freely  at  either  side  of  the  stream.  They 
can  be  laid  up  in  place  again  when  the  water  subsides. 
The  fence  shown  in  figure  137,  though  rather  rude  and 
primitive,  has  the  advantage  of  being  cheaply  con- 
structed and  permanent.  Two  strong  posts  are  driven  into 
the  banks  on  the  margin  of  the  stream,  to  which  a  log, 
a  foot  or  more  in  diameter,  is  fastened  by  pins,  spikes  or 
withes,  about  twenty  inches  above  low  water  mark.  Then 


.  137. — AN  EXTEMPORISED  FLOOD-FENCE. 


fence  rails  are  sharpened  at  one  end,  driven  into  the 
stream  above  the  log,  upon  which  the  other  ends  rest, 
projecting  about  a  foot.  They  are  then  securely  spiked 
or  pinned  to  the  log,  and  the  work  is  done.  The  pointed 


PEACES  FOB   STREAMS   AXD   GULLIES. 


89 


ends  of  the  rails  are  up  the  stream,  and  in  case  of  flood, 
the  water  pours  over  the  obstruction,  .carrying  with  it 
brush,  driftwood,  etc. 

The  flood-gate,  figure  138,  is  designed  to  prevent  small 
stock  from  passing  from  one  field  to  another  through  a 
water-course  under  a  fence  where  there  islow  water, 
while  in  time  of  high  water  the  gate  will  ris^tufficiently 


Fig.  138. — AUTOMATIC  FLOOD-GATE. 

to  allow  the  floating  trash  to  pass  through,  but  not 
higher,  as  it  is  self-fastening.  The  invention  con- 
sists of  a  gate  constructed  of  perpendicular  slats  hinged 
above,  and  moving.  This  hangs  across  a  stream  or  ditch. 
On  the  down-stream  side  of  the  gate  a  swing  paddle  is 
fixed,  which  hangs  in  the  water.  This,  marked  a  in  the 
illustration,  is  attached  to  an  angular  bar,  5,  which  is 
moved  when  the  flow  of  water  presses  with  force  against 
the  paddle.  Two  notched  pieces,  c  c,  attached  to  the 
gate,  rest  upon  the  angular  bar,  b,  at  low  water;  when 
both  the  paddle  and  the  gate  hang  at  rest,  perpendicu- 
larly, these  notched  pieces,  c,  c,  hold  the  gate  firmly  shut; 
when,  however,  the  water  rises  and  the  paddle  is  moved 


90  FENCES,  GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 

sufficiently  to  disengage  the  notches,  the  gate  will  be 
moved  by  the  force  of  the  water,  and  if  sticks  or  rubbish 
of  any  kind  float  down  against  it  they  will  be  swept 
under  it  by  the  water.  When  the  water  subsides,  the 
paddle  swings  back,  the  pieces,  c  c,  catch  and  keep  the 
gate  closed  at  any  height  it  may  fall  to.  Let  the  cross- 
piece,  d,  tl&t  is  halved  into  the  posts,  be  about  one  foot 
above  the  banks  of  the  ditch.  The  pieces,  ////,  repre- 
sent the  fence  above  the  ditch,  the  small  posts,  g  g,  with 
the  pieces  nailed  to  them,  are  to  prevent  the  stock  from 
passing  when  the  gate  is  partly  closed,  at  the  same  time 
bracing  the  posts,  e  e;  the  holes  at  h  are  to  raise  and 
lower  the  paddle  a;  if  small,  a  cleat  on  one  of  the  arms 
upon  which  the  piece  B  is  hung,  prevents  the  paddle 
from  swinging  towards  the  gate. 

Figure  139   shows  a  kind  of  fence  used  in  Missouri 
to  put  across   sloughs.     It  is  in  effect  two   panels  of 


Fig.  139. — A  MIS8OUBI  FLOOD-FENCE. 

portable  fence.  The  posts  are  .set  three  to  four  feet 
deep,  with  the  tops  about  one  foot  above  ground  ;  the 
other  posts,  to  which  the  planks  are  nailed,  are  bolted 


FENCES  FOR  STBEAMS   AND   GULLIES.  91 

to  the  top  of  the  inserted  posts.  The  ends  of  the  panel 
that  connect  with  the  post  on  the  bank  are  slightly  nailed 
with  cross-strips  near  the  top,  so  as  to  be  easily  broken 
loose  when  the  flood  comes.  There  are  also  temporary 
braces  bearing  upstream,  put  in  to  prevent  the  fence 
from  falling,  but  are  easily  washed  out,  when  the  fence 
falls  down  stream,  and  logs  and  other  obstructions  pass 
by  readily.  As  soon  as.  the  flood  goes  down,  the  fence  is 
easily  raised,  a  panel  at  a  time,  to  a  proper  place. 

Figure  140  shows  a  cheap  and  effective  form  of  flood 
fence.    The  material  used  are  square-hewn  timbers,  seven 


Fig.  140.— FBESHBT   FENCE. 

or  eight  inches  for  sills,  stone  pillars,  split  rails  about  ten 
feet  long.  The  rails  are  driven  in  the  ground  about  two 
feet  deep  ;  the  upper  ends  project  above  the  sill  two  or 
three  feet,  and  are  spiked  down  to  the  sill  with  large 
spikes  ;  when  the  freshet  comes,  logs  and  drift-wood  are 
carried  over,  and  the  fence  will  be  left  in  as  good  order 
as  before  the  high  water. 

Figure  141  represents  a  gulch  fence  or  gate  which  is 
in  common  use  in  some  parts  of  the  Pacific  Slope.     It 


Fig.  141.— CALIFORNIA  GULCH  FENCE. 

is  particularly  adapted  to  the  gulches  of  the  foot  hills 
and  the  irrigating  ditches  of  the  plains.     The   whole 


92  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

gate  swings  freely  by  the  upper  pole,  tlie  ends  of  which 
rest  in  large  holes  in  posts  on  either  bank,  or  in  the  cross 
of  stakes.  The  upright  pieces  may  be  of  split  pickets 
or  sawed  lumber,  as  may  be  the  most  convenient.  If 
the  stream  is  likely  to  carry  floating  brush,  logs,  etc.,  the 
slats  should  be  of  heavier  material  than  is  necessary  \vhen 
this  is  not  the  case.  "When  constructed  properly  the  gate 
will  give,  allowing  rubbish  and  freshets  to  pass,  and  then 
resume  its  proper  position.  The  principal  advantage 
claimed  for  this  gate  is  that  it  is  not  apt  to  gather  the 
passing  debris. 

A  gully  is  sometimes  difficult  to  fence  properly,  but 
by  hanging  a  frame  over  it,  as  is  seen  in  figure   142, 


Fig.  143. — FENCE  FOB  A  DBT  GULLY. 

the  object  may  be  quickly  accomplished.  The  frame  can 
be  spiked  together  in  a  short  time,  or  framed  together  if 
a  more  elaborate  one  is  desired.  To  make  it  serve  its 
purpose  completely,  the  rails  must  be  closer  together 
near  the  bottom  than  at  the  top  of  the  frame,  in  order  to 
prevent  small  animals  from  going  through  it. 

A  modification  of  this  last  named  device,  seen  at  fig- 
ure 143,  gives  greater  space  for  the  passage  of  brush  wood 
or  other  large  objects,  which  may  be  swept  down  on  the 
flood.  The  width,  strength  and  size  of  the  bases  sup- 
porting the  side  posts,  and  of  the  braces,  will  depend 
upon  the  width  and  depth  of  the  channel.  The  base 


FEHCES   FOR  STREAMS  AND   GULLIES.  93 

pieces  can  te  firmly  anchored  by  stakes  driven  slanting 
over  the  ends  and  outsides,  or  by  stones  piled  on.  For 
wide,  shallow  streams,  three  or  even  more  braced  up- 
rights can  be  anchored  eight  or  ten  feet  apart  in  the  bed 
with  heavy  stones,  with  two  or  more  swinging  sections. 


Fig.  143.— A  FRESHET  FENCE. 

If  small  trees  or  long  timbers  are  likely  to  float  down, 
the  swinging  gate  may  be  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  wide. 
For  smaller  streams,  with  strong  high  banks,  five  or  six 
feet  will  suffice. 


PORTABLE  TIDE   FENCE. 

Figure  144  represents  a  fence  for  tide-creeks.     It  is 
made  usually  of  pine,  the  larger  pieces,  those  which  lie 


Fig.  144.— SECTION  OF   A   TIDE   FENCE. 


94  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BKIDGES. 

on  the  ground  and  parallel  with  the  run  of  the  fence, 
are  three  by  four-inch  pieces,  hemlock  or  pine,  and  con- 
nected by  three  cross-bars,  of  three  by  four-inch  pieces, 
mortised  in  three  feet  apart.  Into  the  middle  of  these 
three  cross-pieces,  the  upright  or  posts  are  securely 
mortised,  while  two  common  boards  are  nailed  under- 
neath the  long  pieces,  to  afford  a  better  rest  for  the  struc- 
ture, when  floating  on  the  water  or  resting  on  the  ground. 
Barbed  or  plain  wires  are  stretched  along  the  posts, 
which  are  four  feet  high. 


WATEBTNG  PLACE  IN  A  CEEEK. 

Cattle  naturally  select  a  certain  place  in  a  water-course 
to  drink  at,  where  the  bank  is  not  precipitous.  During 
a  good  part  of  the  year  this  bank  is  muddy,  on  account 


Fig.  145.— A  CLEAN  WATERING   PLACE. 

of  its  moisture  and  trampling  of  the  animals.  As  a  re- 
sult, the  horses  get  the  scratches,  the  cows  come  to  the 
milking  pen  with  muddy  udders,  and  frequently  animals 
are  injured  by  the  crowding  in  the  mud.  Hogs  are  often 
seriously  injured,  because  the  mud  becomes  so  deep  and 
tough,  that  they  are  well  nigh  helpless  in  it.  Another 
objection  is  that  the  animals  wade  to  the  middle  of  the 
creek,  and  soon  make  its  bottom  as  muddy  as  the  bank, 
and  the  water  becomes  unfit  for  drinking.  The  arrange- 
ment shown  in  our  illustration,  which  may  be  built  of 
heavy  plank,  brick,  or  flat  stones,  prevents  all  this.  It 


MAKING    AND   SETTING   POSTS.  §5 

is  constructed  by  first  making  an  incline  to  a  level  plat- 
form for  the  animals  to  stand  on  while  drinking.  This 
plane  terminates  in  an  abrupt  descent,  forming  a  trough 
for  the  water  to  flow  through.  The  trough  should  not 
be  more  than  two  feet  wide,  that  the  animals  may  easily 
get  across  it.  The  level  floor  permits  the  animals  to 
drink  at  their  ease,  often  a  matter  of  importance.  Such 
a  drinking  place  should  be  made  at  the  upper  end,  of  the 
creek,  where  it  passes  through  a  field  to  prevent  the  ani- 
mals from  soiling  the  water  by  standing  in  it  above  where 
they  drink. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MAKING    AND    SETTING    POSTS. 

MAKING  FENCE    POSTS. 

There  is  quite  an  art  in  splitting  logs  into  posts. 
Every  post  should  have  some  heart  wood,  which  lasts  the 
longer,  for  two  reasons  :  That  there  may  be  durable 
wood  into  which  to  drive  the  nails,  and  without  it  some 
of  the  posts,  composed  entirely  of  sap-wood,  will  rot 
off  long  before  others,  making  the  most  annoying  of 
all  repairing  necessary.  If  the  log  is  of  a  size  to  make 
twelve  posts,  split  along  the  lines  of  figure  146,  which  will 
give  each  post  a  share  of  heart  wood.  This  will  make  a 
cross  section  .of  the  posts  triangular,  the  curved  base  be- 
ing somewhat  more  than  half  of  either  side.  This  is  a 
fairly  well  shaped  post,  and  much  better  than  a  square  one 
having  little  or  no  heart  wood.  Although  the  log  may 
be  large  enough  to  make  sixteen  or  eighteen  posts,  it  is 
better  to  split  it  the  same  way.  It  should  first  be  cut 
into  halves,  then  quarters,  then  twelfths.  If  it  is  at- 


96  fEXCES,    GATES   AKD   BRIDGES. 

tempted  to  split  one  post  off  the  side  of  a  half,  the  wood 
will  "draw  out,"  making  the  post  larger  at  one  end  than 
the  other — not  a  good  shape,  for  there  will  be  little  heart 
wood  at  the  small  end.  When  the  log  is  too  large  to  ad- 
mit of  it  being  split  in  that  way,  each  post  may  never- 
theless be  given  enough  heart  wood  by  splitting  along  the 


Fig.  146.  Fig.  147. 

lines,  shown  in  figure  147.  First  cut  the  logs  into  halves, 
then  quarters,  then  eighths.  Then  split  off  the  edge  of 
each  eighth,  enough  for  a  post — about  one-fourth  only 
of  the  wood,  as  it  is  all  heart  wood,  and  then  halve  the 
balance.  A  good  post  can  be  taken  off  the  edge,  and  yet 
enough  heart  wood  for  the  remaining  two  posts  remain. 


A   POST  HOLDEE. 


A  simple  arrangement  for  holding  a  post  while  it  is 
being  bored  or  mortised,  is  shown  in  figure  148.     It  con- 


Fig.  148.— A  POST  HOLDEB. 

sists  of  two  long  pieces  of  round  or  square  timber,  lying 
parallel  upon  the  ground,  and  two  shorter  sticks  resting 


MAKING   AND   SETTING   POSTS. 


97 


upon  them  at  right  angles.  The  upper  pieces  have  sad- 
dles cut  out  for  the  posts  to  fit  into.  A  staple  with  a 
large  iron  hook  or  "dog,"  is  fastened  into  one  end  of 
each  cross-piece,  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  When  the 
post  is  laid  in  position,  the  hooks  are  driven  into  it 
holding  it  firmly. 


DRIVING   FENCE   POSTS   BY   HAND. 

Where  the  soil  is  soft,  loose,  and  free  from  stone,  posts 
may  be  driven  more  easily  and  firmly  than  if  set  in  holes 


Fig.  149.— DRIVING  PENCE  POSTS. 

dug  for  the  purpose.  An  easy  method  of  driving  is  shown 
in  figure  149.  A  wagon  is  loaded  with  posts  and  fur- 
nished with  a  stage  in  the  rear  end  of  the  box,  upon 
which  a  person  can  stand  to  give  the  posts  the  first  start. 
Another  man  holds  the  posts  upright  while  they  are 


98  FENCES,  GATES  AKD   BRIDGES. 

driven.  When  one  post  is  driven  to  its  place,  the  wagon 
is  moved  to  the  next  place,  and  this  operation  repeated. 
To  drive  posts,  a  wooden  maul  should  be  used.  This 
is  made  of  a  section  of  an  elm  trunk  or  branch,  eight  or 
nine  inches  in  diameter,  figure  150.  An  iron  ring  is  driven 
on  each  end,  and  wedged  all  around,  the  wood  at  the 
edge  being  beaten  down  over  the  rings  with  a  hammer  or 
the  poll  of  an  axe.  To  prevent  the  posts  from  splitting 
or  being  battered  too  much,  the  ends  of  the  maul 
should  be  hollowed  a  little,  and  never  rounded  out,  and 


Fig.  150. — MAUL  FOB  DRIVING  POSTS. 

the  ends  of  the  posts  should  be  beveled  all  around.  The 
hole  in  the  maul  for  the  handle  should  be  made  larger 
on  one  side,  and  lengthwise  of  the  maul,  and  the  han- 
dle spread  by  two  wedges  driven  in  such  a  way  as  not 
to  split  the  maul. 

TO   DEIVE   POSTS   WITHOUT  SPLITTING. 

Posts  are  very  liable  to  split  in  driving,  unless  some 
precaution  is  used.  This  damage  and  loss  can  be  avoided 
in  a  great  measure  by  proper  preparation  of  the  posts  be- 
fore they  are  driven.  The  tops  of  sawed  posts  should 
have  the  sides  cut  off,  as  in  figure  151,  or  simply  cut  off 
each  corner,  as  in  figure  153,  while  a  round  post  should 
be  shaped  as  in  figure  152.  The  part  of  the  post  re- 
moved need  not  be  more  than  half  an  inch  in  thickness, 
but  when  the  corners  only  are  cut  away,  the  chip  should 
be  thicker.  In  driving,  it  is  very  important  to  strike  the 
post  squarely  on  the  top,  and  not  at  one  corner  or 


MAKING  AND   SETTING   POSTS. 


99 


side.  In  most  soils  at  the  North,  the  frosts  heave  posts 
mere  or  less  each  season,  and  they  need  to  be  driven 
down  to  the  usual  depth.  To  do  this  with  little  in- 
jury to  the  post,  the  device  shown  in  figure  154  may 


Fig.  151. 


152. 


Fig.  153. 


be  used.  It  is  a  piece  of  tough  hard  wood  scantling,  e, 
eighteen  inches  in  length,  with  tapering  ends.  It  is 
provided  with  a  handle,  h,  three  feet  in  length,  of  quite 
small  size,  and  if  possible,  of  green  timber.  In  using  it, 
let  one  person  (a  boy  will  do)  lay  the  bit  of  scantling  on 
top  of  the  post  to  be  re-driven,  when,  with  the  beetle  or 


Fig.  154.— SCANTLING  WITH  HANDLE  IN  POSITION. 

sledge,  the  scantling,  instead  of  the  post  is  struck,  thus 
preventing  the  splitting  of  the  post.  When  the  top  of  a 
fence  is  surmounted  by  a  stringer,  as  in  the  engraving, 
the  effect  of  the  blow  is  distributed  over  a  large  space, 


100  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

and  both  stringer  and  post  escape  injury.  The  attend- 
ant should  keep  hold  of  the  handle,  h,  while  the  posts 
are  being  driven,  and  move  the  scantling  from  post  to 
post  as  required. 


A   POWERFUL  POST   DRIVER. 

For  a  farmer  who  has  a  large  number  of  posts  to  set,  a 
special  apparatus  for  driving  them  will  be  found  useful. 


Fig.  155. — THE  POST-DRIVER. 

The  accompanying  illustrations  show  a  machine  of  this 
kind.  An  axle,  «,  figure  155,  of  hard  wood,  eight  and 
one-half  feet  long  ;  a  hickory  sapling  will  do.  It  has 
spindles  shaved  to  fit  the  hind  wheels  of  a  wagon,  which 
are  fastened  by  linch-pins,  leaving  about  six  feet  space  be- 
tween the  hubs.  A  coupling-pole,  b,  thirteen  feet  long, 


MAKING    AND   SETTING   POSTS.  101 

is  framed  in  and  strongly  braced  at  right  angles  with  the 
axle,  and  connects  in  front  with  the  forward  axle  of  a 
common  wagon.  The  main  sill,  d,  figure  156,  is  one 
stick  of  timber,  six  by  eight  inches,  by  fourteen  feet  long 
and  has  a  cross-piece,  e,  framed  in  the  end.  Two 
side-pieces,  f,  two  by  four  inches  by  five  feet  long,  are 
pinned  or  bolted  to  the  main  sill  at  g,  and  cross-pieces 
framed  into  them,  as  shown  in  figure  156,  so  framed  that 
the  lower  edges  of  the  side-pieces  will  be  two  inches  from 
the  axle,  when  the  main  sill  rests  on  the  axle.  The  side- 
pieces,  /,  should  be  twenty-two  inches  apart  at  the  ends. 
The  front  end  of  the  main  sill  rests  on  the  front  axle,  in 
place  of  a  bolster,  and  the  "king-bolt"  passes  through  it 
at  li  •  the  upright  guides,  i,  are  two  by  four  inches  by 
fourteen  feet  long,  bolted  to  the  side-pieces,  /,  with  a 
space  of  fourteen  inches  between ;  a  cap,  /,  two  by  three 
by  twenty-six  inches  long,  is  framed  on  top.  Two  braces, 
&,  two  by  four  inches  by  sixteen  feet  long,  are  bolted  to 
the  upright  guides,  two  feet  below  the  cap,  and  connect  at 
the  bottom  with  a  cross-piece,  I,  two  by  eight  by  twenty- 
two  inches  long,  between  the  braces.  It  has  rounded 
ends  passing  through  two-inch  holes  in  the  braces,  and 
fastened  by  a  pin  outside,  to  form  a  loose  joint.  This 
cross-piece,  I,  is  held  down  on  the  main  sill  by  a  strip,  m, 
and  steadied  by  cleats;  it  is  free  to  slide  back  or  forward, 
and  is  held  in  place  by  a  short  pin.  By  moving  this 
cross-piece,  the  upright  guides,  i,  are  kept  perpendicular 
when  going  up  or  down  hill.  A  small  windlass,  o,  figure 
155,  is  placed  under  the  axle,  a,  between  hangers  framed 
into  the  axle,  close  to  the  hubs.  Two  brace-ropes,  or 
wires,  p,  are  fastened  to  this  windlass  at  the  extreme 
ends,  and  wound  around  it  a  turn  or  two  in  opposite  di- 
rections, drawn  tight  and  fastened  to  the  main  braces  near 
the  top.  By  turning  the  windlass,  o,  slightly,  by  means 
of  a  short  bar,  the  machine  may  lean  to  either  side,  to  con- 
form to  sliding  ground,  thus  being  adjustable  in  all  di- 


102 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


rections.  The  maul,  r,  figure  157,  of  tough  oak,  fourteen 
by  eighteen  inches,  by  two  feet  long,  weighs  about  two 
hundred  pounds,  is  grooved  to  fit  smoothly  between  the 
guides  ;  the  follower,  s,  is  more  plainly  shown  in  the  en- 
graving, also  the  simple  latch,  by  which  the  follower  and 
maul  are  connected  and  disconnected.  The  square  clev- 
is, t,  is  of  three-quarter  inch  iron,  suspended  from  the 


Fig.  156.— BOTTOM  OF  DRIVES.      Fig.  157.— TOP  OF  UPRIGHT. 

same  iron  pin,  u,  on  which  the  pulley,  v,  is  placed.  It 
is  partly  imbedded  in  the  wooden  casing,  w,  which  is 
eight  by  eighteen  inches  ;  this  casing  serves  to  inclose 
the  pulley,  v,  and  also  to  trip  the  latch  when  brought  to- 
gether ;  the  clevis,  t,  is  caught  under  the  hook  fastened 
in  the  maul,  is  pressed  into  place  by  a  small  hickory 
spring,  y,  acting  on  a  small  iron  pin,  z  ;  when  it  reaches 
the  top,  the  crotch,  1,  suspended  from  the  top,  comes 
in  contact  with  the  pin,  2,  and  the  clevis,  t,  is  pressed 


MAKING  AND   SETTING   POSTS.  103 

back,  and  releases  the  hook,  x,  when  the  maul  drops. 
The  windlass,  3,  figure  155,  has  two  cranks,  and  a 
ratchet  for  convenience.  The  rope  passes  from  the  wind- 
lass over  the  pulley  at  the  top,  down  and  under  the  pul- 
ley, v,  then  up,  and  is  fastened  at  7 ,  on  the  cap,  j, 
wire  braces  at  8.  By  releasing  the  cranks  and  ratchet, 
the  follower  will  run  down  the  guides,  and,  striking  the 
maul,  will  "  click"  the  latch  into  place,  ready  for  an- 
other hoist.  For  two  men  it  is  easy  work,  and  can  be 
handled  quite  rapidly.  Drive  astride  the  proposed  line 
of  fence  ;  lay  a  measuring-pole  on  the  ground  to  mark 
the  spot  for  the  next  post  ;  drive  forward  with  the  post- 
driver,  having  the  maul  partly  raised,  set  up  a  post,  and 
proceed  to  drive  it. 


SETTING   A   GATE   POST. 

No  matter  how  strong  or  how  well  braced  a  gate  may 
be,  it  will  soon  begin  to  sag  and  catch  on  the  ground,  if 


Fig.  158.— A  GATE   POST   SET  IN   CEMENT. 

the  gate  post  is  not  firmly  planted.     Sometimes,  owing 
to  the  soft  nature  of  the  ground,  it  is  almost  impossible 


104  FENCES,  GATES  AND   BEIDGES. 

to  plant  the  post  firmly,  but  in  such  cases  the  work  can 
generally  be  done  satisfactorily  by  packing  medium-sized 
stones  around  the  post,  in  the  hole,  as  shown  in  figure 
158.  If  it  is  thought  that  this  will  not  insure  suffi- 
cient firmness,  add  good  cement.  Place  in  a  layer  of 
stones,  then  cement  enough  to  imbed  the  next  layer  of 
stones,  and  so  on,  until  the  hole  is  full  and  the  post 
planted.  Do  not  cover  up  the  stones  with  earth  or  dis- 
turb the  post  for  a  few  days,  until  the  cement  has  "set." 
Eemember  that  the  post  must  be  set  plumb  while  the 
work  is  going  on,  as  it  can  never  be  straightened  after 
the  cement  has  "set."  Only  durable  posts  should  be 
used,  and  this  method  of  setting  should  only  be  followed 
with  gate  posts  which  are  supposed  to  be  permanent,  and 
not  with  posts  liable  to  be  changed. 

A  still  better  method  is  shown  in  figure  159.     Before 
the  post  is  set  into  the  hole,  a  flat  stone  is  laid  edgewise 


Fig.  159.— GATE  POST  BEACED  WITH  STONES. 

in  the  bottom,  on  the  side  which  is  to  receive  the  great- 
est pressure  from  the  foot  of  the  post.  When  the  post  is 
set,  and  the  hole  half  filled  with  earth,  a  second  stone  is 
placed  against  the  post  on  the  side  to  which  it  will  be 
drawn  by  the  weight  of  the  gate.  The  stones  receive 
the  pressure  and  hold  the  post  firmly  in  position. 


MA.KIXG    AX1)    SETTING    POSTS.  105 

FENCE   POSTS   FOR   WET   LANDS. 

Low  meadow  and  other  marsh  land  is  subject  to 
heaving  by  the  frost,  and  much  difficulty  is  experienced 
in  securing  firm  fences  upon  such  ground,  as  the  posts 
are  drawn  up  by  the  freezing  of  the  surface.  To  avoid 
this,  much  may  be  done  in  the  way  of  selecting  posts  that 


Fig.  160. — DIFFERENT  METHODS  OF  TREATING  POSTS. 

are  larger  at  one  end  than  the  other.  It  will  help  very 
much  to  put  a  strong,  durable  pin  through  the  bottom 
end  of  the  post,  or  to  notch  it  at  each  side,  as  in  figure  160, 
and  to  brace  the  bottom  with  a  flat  stone,  driven  well 
into  the  side  of  the  hole  with  the  rammer.  When  the 
soil  is  very  soft  and  mucky,  it  is  best  to  drive  the  posts 
and  to  make  them  hold  well  in  the  ground,  to  spike 
wedge-shaped  pieces  to  them  on  either  side,  by  which 
they  are  held  firmly  in  their  places. 

LIVE  POSTS. 

A  living  tree  which  stands  in  the  right  place,  makes  a 
very  durable  and  substantial  fence-post.     In  the  great 


106 


FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 


treeless  regions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  where  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  obtain  timber  for  posts,  it  is  not  an  unusual  prac- 
tice to  plant  trees  for  the  purpose  on  street  boundaries, 
and  other  places  where  the  fence  is  to  be  permanent. 
White  willow  is  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  on  suitable 
soils,  as  it  grows  rapidly  and  bears  close  pruning.  In 
situations  where  the  soil  is  even  moderately  damp,  white 
willow  posts,  four  inches  in  diameter,  cut  green  and  set 


Fig.  161. 


Fig.  162. 


in  spring,  will  take  root  and  grow.  The  new  branches 
soon  form  a  bushy  head,  which  may  be  cut  back  from 
time  to  time.  It  is  not  advisable  to  nail  boards  or  drive 
staples  directly  into  the  tree.  With  a  board  fence,  the 
swaying  of  the  tree  loosens  the  nails,  and  if  barbed  wire 
is  stapled  to  the  tree,  the  bark  and  wood  will  in  time 
grow  over  them  as  in  figure  161.  To  obviate  this,  a 
stick  is  nailed  to  the  tree  as  in  figure  162,  and  to  this  the 
fence  is  attached.  A  still  better  method  is  to  secure  the 


MAKING   AND   SETTING    POSTS.  107 

strip  of  wood  to  the  tree  by  two  or  three  pairs  of  inter- 
locking staples. 


MENDING   A    SPLIT   POST. 

Fence  posts  split  from  a  variety  of  causes,   and  when 
they  are  in  this  condition  they  make  a  very  insecure 


Fig.  163.— MENDIXG   A  SPLIT  POST. 

fence.  The  usual  way  is  to  merely  nail  an  old  horseshoe 
or  two  across  the  split  part,  just  below  the  holes  in  the 
posts.  This  answers  fairly  well,  but  does  not  draw  the 
cleft  together,  and  horseshoes  are  not  always  on  hand. 
A  better  method  of  doing  this  is  shown  in  figure 
163.  A  short,  stout  chain  is  put  around  the  top  of  the 
post,  just  tight  enough  to  admit  of  a  strong  lever.  The 
parts  of  the  posts  are  then  brought  together  by  a  heavy 
downward  pressure  of  the  lever  and  held  there,  while  a 
strip  of  good  tin,  such  as  can  be  cut  from  the  bodies  of 
tin  cans,  is  put  around  and  securely  nailed.  If  the  post 


108  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

is  a  heavy  one  and  the  cleft  large,  it  is  well  to  take  the 
entire  body  of  a  can  and  double  it,  to  give  it  additional 
strength  before  nailing  it  on.  The  dotted  lines  show 
where  the  tin  is  nailed. 


HOOK   FOR   WIRING   POSTS. 

Figure  164  shows  a  modified  cant-hook  for  drawing  to- 
gether the  upper  extremeties  of  fence  stakes  that  are  to  be 


Fig.  164.— A  STAKE  DBA  WEB   USED  IN  WIRING  FENCES. 

wired,  as  in  the  engraving.  The  half-moon  shaped  iron, 
a,  is  riveted  fast  to  the  top  end  of  the  lever,  and  is  to  pre- 
vent the  end  of  the  lever  from  slipping  off  the  stake  when 
in  use.  The  second  iron  from  the  top,  b,  is  twenty-five 
inches  long,  with  two  hooks  at  the  end,  though  one  will 
do  ;  this  is  to  catch  the  stake  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
fence.  This  iron  is  fastened  in  the  lever  by  a  bolt  in  a 


MAKING  AND  SETTING  POSTS.  109 

long  mortise,  in  the  same  way,  as  the  hook  in  an  ordinary 
cant-hook.  The  iron  rod,  c,  has  a  hole  in  one  end,  and 
is  drawn  out  to  a  point  at  the  other — this  is  fastened  to 
the  lever  by  a  bolt  in  a  long  mortise,  and  serves  to  catch 
in  the  stake  or  rail,  and  hold  the  stakes  together,  while 
the  man  adjusts  the  iron  around  the  stakes.  When  the 
stakes  are  drawn  tightly  to  the  fence,  this  rod  is  drawn 
up  until  it  strikes^he  stake  or  one  of  the  rails,  when  the 
man  can  let  go  of  the  "drawer,"  and  it  holds  itself.  The 
lever  is  four  feet  and  three  inches  long,  and  two  inches 
square,  with  the  corners  taken  off  part  of  the  way  down, 
the  lower  end  being  rounded  for  a  handle,  as  shown  in 
the  engraving. 


DRAWING   FENCE   POSTS. 

Figure  165  shows  a  practicable  method  of  drawing 
out  fence  posts  by  the  aid  of  an  ox  team.     A  stout  piece 


Fig.  165.— DBAWING  FENCE  POSTS. 

of  timber  with  a  large  flat  "  foot"  is  placed  under  the 
chain  to  change  the  direction  of  the  draft.  Two  men 
and  a  steady  yoke  of  oxen  can  extract  fence  posts  very 


110  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

quickly  and  easily  by  this  method.     A  good  steady  team 
of  horses  will  do  quite  as  well  as  oxen. 


LIFTING   POSTS   BY   HAND. 


A  convenient  and  sensible  implement,  for  taking  up 
fence  posts  without  the  aid  of  a  team,  is  shown  at  figure 
166.  It  consists  of  a  stout  pole  of  the  size  and  shape  of 


Fig.  166. — A  CCWrVKMEXT  POST  LEFTEB. 


a  wagon  tongue.  The  thicker  part  of  this  pole,  for  about 
fifteen  inches  from  the  end,  is  shaped  into  a  wedge. 
This  is  sheathed  with  a  frame  made  of  iron,  half  an  inch 
thick  and  two  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  securely  fast- 
ened with  screws  or  bolts.  The  end  should  be  pointed 
and  slightly  bent  upwards.  The  manner  of  using  this 
convenient  implement  is  shown  in  the  illustration. 

Frequently  a  farmer  has  occasion  to  lift  posts,  and  has 
not  time  to  wait  for  the  construction  of  an  iron-shod  lev- 
er. Figure  167  shows  a  very  simple,  inexpensive  con- 
trivance for  such  cases.  A  spadeful  of  earth  is  taken 
from  each  side  of  the  post,  and  a  short,  strong  chain 
loosely  fastened  around  the  lower  end  of  the  post,  as  far 


MAKING  AND   SETTING   POSTS.  Ill 

down  as  it  can  be  placed.  A  strong  lever— a  stout  rail 
will  answer  the  purpose— is  passed  through  the  chain,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving,  until  the  end  of  the  rail  catches 
firm  soil.  By  lifting  at  the  other  end  of  the  lever  the 
post  is  raised  several  inches,  when  both  chain  and  lever 
are  pushed  down  again  for  a  second  hold,  which  general  - 


Fig.  167.— LIFTING  A  POST. 

ly  brings  the  post  out.  The  chain  is  furnished  with  a 
stout  hook  at  one  end,  made  to  fit  the  links,  so  that  it 
can  be  quickly  adjusted  to  any  ordinary  post. 


SPLICING  FENCE  POSTS. 

There  are  places,  as  crossing  over  gullies,  etc.,  where 
unusually  long  posts  are  desirable,  though  not  always 
easy  to  obtain.  In  such  cases  properly  spliced  posts 
are  almost  as  durable  as  entire  ones.  The  engraving  of 
the  front  and  side  views,  figure  168,  shows  how  the 
splice  may  be  made  to  secure  strength  and  durability. 
The  splices  should  be  made  with  a  shoulder  at  the  lower 


112  FENCES,  GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 

end,  and  well  nailed  together,  after  which  one  or  two 
bands  of  hoop-iron  may  be  passed  around  the  splice  and 


Fig.  168.— SPLICING  FE^CE  POSTS. 

securely  fastened.     The   hoop-iron  band  is  one  of  the 
most  important  points  in  a  splice  of  this  kind. 


APPLICATION  OF  WOOD  PRESERVATIVES. 

To  prevent  decay  at  the  center,  as  well  as  of  all  that 
part  of  the  post  placed  below  ground,  by  use  of  wood 
preserving  solutions,  the  following  system  is  both  novel 
and  valuable  :  It  is  to  have  a  hole  in  the  center  of  the 
post,  from  the  bottom  upward,  to  a  point  that  shall  be 
above  the  ground  when  the  post  is  in  position.  Then 
bore  another  hole  in  the  side  of  the  post  with  a  slight  in- 
clination downward,  making  an  opening  in  the  center 
hole,  as  shown  in  figure  169.  A  wooden  plug,  two 
or  three  inches  long,  should  be  driven  snugly  into  the 
hole  at  the  bottom  of  the  post,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  any  liquid  that  may  be  used  in  the  operation. 
"When  the  posts  are  set  in  an  upright  position,  a  preserv- 


MAKING   AND   SETTING   POSTS.  113 

ative  solution  may  be  introduced  into  the  hole  in'  the 
side  and  the  centre  one  filled  with  it,  after  which  a  cork 
plug  of  some  kind  should  be  inserted  in  the  side  hole,  to 
prevent  evaporation,  as  well  as  to  keep  out  dust  and  in- 
sects. The  solutions  thus  introduced  will  gradually  be 
absorbed  by  the  surrounding  wood,  until  all  parts  along 
the  entire  length  of  the  central  cavity  must  become  com- 
pletely saturated.  When  the  solutions  used  have  been 
taken  up  by  the  surrounding  wood,  it  will  only  be  nec- 


Fig.  169. — SECTIONAL  VIEW  OF  BOBED  POST. 

essary  to  withdraw  the  cork  or  plug,  and  apply  more,  if 
it  is  thought  desirable.  A  common  watering  pot  with  a 
slender  spout  will  be  a  handy  vessel  to  use  in  distribut- 
ing the  solutions. 

Petroleum,  creosote,  corrosive  sublimate,  or  any  other 
of  the  well  known  wood  preservatives  may  be  used  in 
this  way.  Telegraph  posts  might  be  prepared  in  the 
same  way,  and  if  the  central  reservoirs  were  kept  filled 
with  petroleum,  they  would  last  a  hundred  years  or  more. 
Where  a  large  number  of  posts  or  poles  are  to  be  pre- 
pared, it  would  be  cheaper  to  have  the  holes  bored  by 
steam  or  horse  power  than  by  hand.  With  very  open 


114  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 

and  porous  wood  it  is  quite  probable  that  a  hole  bored  in 
the  side  of  the  post  and  above  the  ground,  and  deep 
enough  to  hold  a  half  pint  or  more  of  creosote  or  some 
other  similar  solution,  would  answer,  but  a  central  cav- 
ity reaching  to  the  bottom,  would  perhaps,  be  best. 


IRON  FENCE  POSTS. 

The  advent  of  wire  fences  was  followed  by  a  call  for 
posts  in  the  prairie  regions,  where  timber  is  scarce.   Sey- 


Fig.  170. — POST.  Fig.  171. — DISC. 

eral  forms  of  iron  posts  have  been  devised,  of  which  the 
leading  ones  are  illustrated  herewith.  Figure  170  is  of 
iron,  one  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  and  two  and  a  half 
inches  wide,  rolled  to  a  curve  and  pierced  at  the  proper 
intervals  for  the  staples,  which  are  to  be  clinched  on  the 
concave  side.  The  disc,  figure  171,  is  swedged  out  of  one 
fourth  inch  iron.  It  is  sunken  a  little  below  the  ground, 
and  the  post  driven  through  the  curved  opening,  into 


MAKING   AND   SETTING   POSTS.  115 

which  it  fits  closely.  Figure  172  is  a  flat  iron  bar,  with 
slots  cut  diagonally  into  one  side  to  receive  the  wire. 
The  post  is  supported  by  two  tiles  A\  ith  holes  to  fit  the 
post,  which  is  thrust  through  them. 

Figure  173  is  made  of  angle  iron  braced  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  with  an  angular  iron  plate  rolled  for  the 
purpose,  and  driven  to  its  place.  Figure  174  shows  an 


Fig.  172.— POST  WITH  TILES.  Fig.  173. 

iron  post,  with  the  ground-piece  and  driving  tube  to  the 
left  of  it.  The  post  is  a  round  iron  bar  or  tube,  with 
notches  for  the  wires,  which  are  held  in  place  with  short 
pieces  of  binding-wire,  wound  around  the  post.  The 
ground  piece,  which  is  shown  in  the  middle  of  the  en- 
graving, is  of  cast  iron,  eleven  inches  long,  and  five  inches 
across  the  top,  with  two  loops  for  inserting  the  iron  post. 
This  is  driven  into  the  ground,  and  the  iron  post  driven 
through  it.  At  the  left  of  the  engraving  is  shown  the 
device  for  driving  the  post.  It  is  a  piece  of  common 
gas-pipe,  just  large  enough  to  slip  easily  over  the  top  of 
the  post,  and  provided  on  the  top  with  an  iron  cap  to 
receive  the  blow  of  the  large  hammer  or  maul  used  in 
driving.  Figure  175  shows  a  cast  iron  ground  piece,  and 
at  the  right  is  the  lower  end  of  a  post  resting  in  one  of 


11 G  FENCES,  GATES  AND  BBIDGES. 

them.     The  three   flanges   are  cast  in  one  solid  piece, 
with  a  hole  through  the  centre  of  any  desired  form  and 


Fig.  174. — POST    WITH  IBON  GROTTND  PIECE. 

size.  The  wings  or  flanges  are  three  inch  plates,  running 
to  sharp  edges  on  the  bottom,  so  that  they  can  easily  be 
driven  into  the  ground.  They  may  be  of  any  desired 
size,  larger  sizes  being  required  for  a  light  yielding  soil 


Fig.  175. — CAST-IKON  GKOUm>-PIECE. 

than  for  a  stiff  one.  Figure  176  is  an  iron  post  on  a 
wooden  base,  for  situations  where  the  ground  is  soft  and 
wet.  The  base  is  preferably  of  cedar,  three  to  four  feet 
long,  four  inches  thick,  and  four  to  six  inches  wide.  It 


GATES   AND    FASTENINGS.  11? 

is  to  be  sunken  in  the  ground  cross-wise  with  the  line  of 
fence.  The  post  is  of  iron,  set  and  stapled  into  the  end- 
piece,  as  shown  in  the  engraving.  Before  being  put  in 
place,  the  whole  is  saturated  with  hot  coal  tar,  as  a  pre- 
servative. There  is  less  call  for  iron  posts  than  was  an- 


Fig.  176. 

ticipated  when  wire  fences  first  came  into  general  use. 
It  is  found  that  wooden  posts  can  be  delivered  in  any  lo- 
cation reached  by  railway  at  less  cost  than  iron  posts. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GATES    AND    FASTENINGS. 

WOODEN    GATES. 

As  board  and  picket  fences  have  gradually  replaced 
rail  and  other  primitive  fences,  useful  but  inconvenient 
"  bars"  have  begun  to  disappear,  and  tidy  gates  are  seen. 
The  saving  in  time  required  to  take  down  and  put  up 
bars,  rather  than  open  and  close  gates,  amounts  to  a 
good  deal.  A  good  wooden  gate  will  last  a  long  time. 
Gate-ways  should  be  at  least  fourteen  feet  wide.  All  the 
wood  used  in  the  construction  of  the  gate  should  be  well 
seasoned.  It  is  best  to  plane  all  the  wood-work,  though 
this  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  Cover  each  tenon  with 


118  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BKIDGES. 

thick  paint  before  it  is  placed  in  its  mortise.  Fasten  the 
brace  to  the  cross-piece  with  small  bolts  or  wrought  nails 
well  clinched.  Mortise  the  ends  of  the  boards  into  the 
end  posts,  and  secure  them  in  place  with  wooden  pins 
wedged  at  both  ends,  or  iron  bolts.  The  best  are1  made 
of  pine  fence-boards  six  inches  wide  ;  the  ends  should  be 


Fig.  177.  Fig.  178. 

four  by  twenty-four  inch  scantling,  although  the  one  at 
the  latch  may  be  lighter.  Five  cross-pieces  are  enough. 
The  lighter  f  he  gate  in  proportion  to  strength,  the  better 
it  is.  There  is  but  one  right  way  to  brace  a  gate,  and 
many  wrong  ones.  The  object  of  bracing  is  to  strengthen 
the  gate,  and  also  to  prevent  its  sagging.  Gates  sag  in 
two  ways  ;  by  the  moving  to  the  one  side  of  the  posts 


Fig.  179.  Fig.  180. 

upon  which  the  gates  are  hung,  and  the  settling  of  the 
gates  themselves.  Unless  braced  the  only  thing  to  hold 
the  gate  square  is  the  perfect  rigidity  of  the  tenons  in  the 
mortises ;  but  the  weight  of  the  gate  will  loosen  these, 
and  allow  the  end  of  the  gate  opposite  the  hinges  to  sag. 
It  is  plain  thai  a  brace  placed  like  that  shown  in  figure  177 
will  not  prevent  this  settling  down.  The  only  opposition 
it  can  give  is  the  resistance  of  the  nails,  and  these  will 


GATES   AND   FASTENINGS. 


119 


draw  loose  in  the  holes  as  readily  as  the  tenons  in  the 
mortises.  A  brace  set  as  shown  at  figure  178  is  not  much 
better,  as  the  resistance  must  depend  upon  the  rigidity 
of  the  upright  piece  in  the  middle,  and  the  bolts  or  nails 
holding  it  will  give  way  enough  to  allow  the  gate  to  sag. 


Fig.  181.  Fig.  183. 

The  method  shown  in  figure  179  is  fully  as  faulty,  while 
the  form  shown  in  figure  180  is  even  worse.  It  seems 
strange  that  any  one  should  brace  a  gate  in  these  ways, 
but  it  is  quite  frequently  seen  attempted.  The  only 
right  way  to  brace  agate  is  shown  in  figure  181.  The  gate 
may  be  further  strengthened  as  shown  in  figure  182.  Be- 
fore the  gate  can  sag,  the  brace  must  be  shortened  ;  for 


Fig.  183.  Fig.  184. 

as  the  gate  settles,  the  points  a  and  b  must  come  closer 
together,  and  this  the  brace  effectually  prevents. 

The  posts  should  be  set  in  such  a  way  that  they  will 
not  be  pulled  to  one  side  and  allow  the  gate  to  sag.  The 
post  should  be  put  below  the  line  of  frost,  or  else  it 
will  be  heaved  out  of  position  ;  three  feet  in  the 
ground  is  none  too  deep.  Have  a  large  post  and 


120 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


make  a  big  hole  for  it.  Be  careful  to  set  the  post  plumb 
and  stamp  the  earth  firmly  in  the  hole — it  cannot  be 
stamped  .too  hard.  While  stamping,  keep  walking 
around  the  post,  so  that  the  earth  will  be  firmed  on  all 
sides.  Blocks  may  be  arranged  as  shown  in  figure  183  ; 


Fig.  185. 


Fig.  186. 


but  this  is  not  really  necessary,  when  the  posts  have 
been  rightly  set,  although  it  may  be  advisable  to  take 
this  further  precaution. 

To  remove  the  pulling  weight  of  the  gate  when  closed, 
the  swinging  end  may  rest  upon  a  block  ;  or  a  pin  in- 


JJi 


Fig.  187. 


Fig.  188. 


serted  in  the  end  piece  of  the  gate  may  rest  in  a  slot 
sawed  in  the  post,  or  on  a  shoulder  of  the  post.  Figure 
184  shows  one  end  of  a  combination  of  two  plans — the 
iron  rod  from  near  the  top  of  the  high  post  holds  the  gate 
while  the  strain  upon  the  post  is  lessened  by  the  oppo- 
site end  of  the  closed  gate  being  supported  on  the  other 
post. 


GATES   AND   FASTENIXGS.  121 

For  hanging  the  gate  the  best  hinges  are  doubtless 
those  shown  in  figure  185.  One  part  passes  through 
the  end-piece  of  the  gate,  and  is  secured  by  a  nut  on  the 
end.  The  other  piece  is  heated  and  driven  into  the  post, 
following  the  path  of  a  small  augur-hole.  Next  to  this 
comes  the  strap  hinge,  which  should  be  fastened  with 
bolts  or  screws.  Three  easy,  cheap  ways  of  support- 
ing the  gate  are  shown  in  figures  186,  187,  and  188.  In 
figure  186,  a  stout  band  of  wood,  or  one  of  iron,  may 
be  used  in  place  of  the  chain.  And  in  place  of  the  stool 
for  the  reception  of  the  lower  end  of  the  end-piece,  a 
block  resting  on  the  ground,  or"a  shoulder  on  the  post, 
may  be  substituted.  The  mode  shown  in  figure  187  is 
common  in  the  West.  Its  construction  needs  no  explan- 
ation. By  sliding  the  gate  back  until  it  almost  balances 
it  may  be  carried  around  with  ease.  In  figure  188,  the 
fastening,  or  latch,  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  hold  the 
lower  part  of  the  gate  in  position.  The  box  of  stone  ren- 
ders it  easier  to  move  the  gate.  A  heavy  block  of  wood 
serves  the  same  purpose. 


A  VERY   SUBSTANTIAL   FARM  GATE. 

Figure  189  shows  a  gate  which  combines  great  dura- 
bility with  much  rustic  beauty.  The  cedar  posts,  A  A, 
should  be  four  feet  in  the  ground,  and  at  least  ten  feet 
out  of  the  ground.  B  represents  a  piece  of  2  by  6  hard 
pine,  into  which  the  posts  are  mortised.  C  is  a  4  by  4 
clear  pine,  turned  at  both  ends  and  mortised  as  shown  in 
figure  191.  D  EF  are  1  by  4  pine  strips.  G  is  a  1  by  6  pine 
strip,  a  sectional  view  being  given  in  figure  190.  It  is  best 
to  use  one  piece  each  of  D  and  E,  letting  F  come  between 
them,  as  it  gives  more  stiffness  to  the  gate.  His  a  block 
of  cedar  with  a  hole  bored  or  dug  large  enough  to  receive 
the  post,  C,  and  to  make  it  more  lasting,  a  small  hole 


122 


FENCES,    GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 


should  be  bored  through  the  block,  so  as  to  let  whatever 
water  collects  in  it  pass  away;  the  block  should  not  be 
less  than  eighteen  inches  long — four  inches  above  ground. 
/  shows  wire  fence  connected.  J  is  a  strong  wire  carried 


Fig.  189.— A  SUBSTANTIAL  GATE.  Fig.  190.  Fig.  191. 

and  secured  to  the  bottom  of  the  first  fence  post.  K  K 
are  cleats  attached  to  posts  to  keep  them  more  firmly  in 
the  ground.  L  are  stones  for  posts,  A  A,  to  stand  on. 
M  shows  the  hinge,  made  so  as  to  take  up  the  sag  after 
the  gate  settles,  and  as  the  wood  wears  out. 


A  STRONG  AND   NEAT  GATE. 

The  posts,  a,  a,  figure  192,  of  oak  or  other  durable  wood, 
are  eight  inches  square,  and  stand  five  and  one  half  feet 
above  the  ground.  The  posts,  b,  b,  three  and  one  third 
inches  thick,  four  and  three  quarter  feet  long,  are  mor- 
tised to  receive  the  slats,  c,  c,  which  are  of  inch  stuff, 
three  inches  wide  and  ten  feet  four  and  three-quarter- 
inches  long.  They  are  let  into  posts,  b,  b,  at  the  dis- 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


123 


tance  marked  in  the  engraving.  The  slats,  d,  are  three 
inches  wide,  and  one  inch  thick,  and  are  placed  opposite 
each  other  on  front  and  back  of  the  gate  as  braces  ;  e,  e, 
are  simply  battens  to  make  a  straight  surface  for  the 
hinges,  /,  /;  all  except  the  upper  and  lower  ones  are 
very  short  and  carried  back  to  the  post.  The  hinges, 
made  by  a  blacksmith  from  an  old  wagon  tire,  are  one 
and  one-half  inch  wide,  three-sixteenth  inch  thick,  and 
are  fastened  by  light  iron  bolts  through  the  battens  at  e, 
and  to  the  rear  post. 


Fig.  192.— A  WELL-MADE  GATE. 

The  above  describes  a  cheap,  light,  durable  gate,  which 
in  over  twenty-three  years'  use  has  never  sagged,  though 
standing  in  the  thoroughfare  of  three  farms,  and  also,  for 
years  past,  used  for  access  to  a  sawmill.  It  is  made  of 
the  best  pine.  The  hinge  is  an  important  point.  It  is 
not  only  cheap  and  easily  made,  but  acts  as  a  brace  for 
the  gate  at  every  point,  and  thus  permits  the  gate  to  be 
lightly  made.  With  this  hinge  sagging  is  impossible.  A 
gate  of  this  kind  will  rot  down  first. 


LIGHT  IRON   GATES. 


The  gate  shown  in  figure  193  may  be  made  of  wrought 
iron  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  and  half  an  inch  thick,  or 


124 


FENCES,    GATES   AND    BKIDGES. 


preferably  of  iron  gas-pipe  of  any  diameter  from  half  an 
inch  to  an  inch.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  oil-regions,  pipe 
can  be  bought  very  cheaply,  which  is  in  condition  good 


Fig.  193. — A  LIGHT  IKON   GATE. 


enough  for  this  purpose.  For  guarding  against  hogs,  it 
should  be  hung  near  the  ground,  and  have  one  or  two 
more  horizontal  pipes  near  the  bottom. 

Figure  194  shows  the  construction  of  a  gate  intended 
for  situations  much  exposed  to  trespassers.     It  is  made 


Fig.  194. — A   WROUGHT  IKON  GATE. 

of  upright  strips  of  flat  iron,  pointed  at  the  top,  and 
fastened  by  rivets  to  a  stout  frame-work  of  iron.  The 
"pickets"  are  placed  two  to  three  inches  apart,  as  de- 
sired, for  the  appearance  of  the  gate,  or  according  to  the 
size  of  the  poultry  or  animals  to  be  kept  from  passing. 


GATES   AND    FASTENINGS.  125 


SELF-CLOSING   GATES. 

Every  self-closing  gate  should  be  provided  with  a  drop 
or  spring  catch,  a  suitable  bevel  for  it  to  strike  against 
and  notch  to  hold  it.  Gates  opening  into  the  garden  or 
out  upon  the  street,  should  be  so  hung  that  they  will 
swing  either  way.  Figure  195  shows  a  hinge  and  slide  for 
such  a  gate.  In  opening  the  gate  from  either  side,  the 
arm  of  the  upper  hinge  slides  upon  the  iron  bar,  raising 
•the  gate  a  little  as  it  swings  around.  When  loosed,  it 


Fig.  195.— HINGE  AXD  SLIDE  FOR  GATE.  Fig.  196. 

slides  down  without  help,  and  closes  by  its  own  weight. 
Figure  196  shows  another  form  of  the  iron  slide,  suitable 
for  a  wide  gate  post,  and  more  ornamental  than  the  plain 
slide  in  figure  195. 

Figure  1 97  shows  a  very  good  and  common  hanging. 
The  upper  hinge  consists  of  a  hook  in  the  post  and  a 
corresponding  eye  in  the  hinge-stile  of  the  gate.  The 
lower  hinge  is  made  of  two  semi-circular  pieces  of  iron, 
each  with  a  shank,  one  of  which  is  shown  above  the  gate 


126 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


in  the  engraving.     They  are  made  to  play  one  into  the 
other.     This  style  of  hanging  may  be  used  on  any  ordi- 


Fig.  197. 

nary  kind  of  gate,  but  is  specially  useful  for  a  small 
street  gate  opening  into  a  door-yard. 

There  is  a  style  of  gate  for  foot-paths,  which  is  not  un- 
common, that  keeps  itself  always  closed  and  latched,  by 
means  of  a  single  upper  and  double  lower  hinge,  which 


Fig.  198. — SELF-CLOSING  FAKM   GATE. 

are  to  be  obtained  at  most  hardware  stores.  The  lower 
hinge  has  two  "  thumbs,"  which  are  embraced  by  two 
open  sockets.  When  the  gate  is  opened,  it  swings  upon 
one  socket  and  its  thumb,  and  being  thrown  off  the  cen- 


GATES   AXD   FASTEXIXGS. 


127 


ter,  the  weight  of  the  gate  draws  it  back,  and  swinging 
too,  it  latches.  A  farm  gate,  entirely  home-made,  may 
be  constructed,  of  which  figures  198  a.nd  199  show  the 
gate  and  the  hinge.  The  gate  is  braced  and  supported  by 
a  stay-strip,  extending  to  the  top  of  the  upright,  which 
forms  the  upper  hinge,  /  being  attached  to  the  top  of 
the  gate-post,  by  an  oak  board  with  a  smooth  hole  in  it. 
The  lower  hinge  is  separately  shown  at  figure  199.  It 
consists  of  an  oak  board,  c,  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  into 


Fig.  199.— LOWER  HINGE  OF  GATE. 

which  the  upright,  e,  is  mortised.  In  this,  two  sockets 
are  cut,  a  foot  from  center  to  center.  The  sockets  in 
this  case  are  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  when  the  gate 
is  in  place  and  shut,  they  fit  against  two  stakes  of  hard- 
wood (locust),  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  d, 
which  being  curved,  are  nailed  to  the  gate-post,  a.  A 
smooth  stone,  laid  across  in  front  of  these  stakes,  takes 
the  weight  of  the  gate,  and  relieves  in  a  measure  the  pres- 
sure on  the  top  of  the  post.  The  hinges  mast  be  kept 
well  greased,  and  it  is  well  to  black-lead  them  also,  to 
prevent  creaking. 


128  FEXCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

GATE   FOR    VILLAGE   LOT. 

Figure  200  shows  a  light,  strong  gate  made  of  wood  and 
wire.  The  top  wire  is  barbed  to  prevent  stock  from 
pressing  against  it,  and  beaux  and  belles  from  hanging 


Fig.  200.— CONVENIENT  GATE. 

over  it.  The  bottom  wires  are  also  barbed  to  prevent 
cats,  dogs,  and  fowls  from  creeping  under.  This  gate  is 
cheap,  may  be  easily  constructed,  and  is  suitable  for 
either  front  or  back  yard. 


A   CHINESE   DOOR   OR   GATE   SPRING. 

Figure  201  shows  the  manner  in  which  the  Chinese 
use  a  bow  as  a  spring  for  closing  the  light  doors  and 
gates.  The  bow  is  fastened  to  the  gate  by  a  cord  or 
chain.  Another  cord  or  chain  is  attached  to  the  middle 
of  the  bow-string  by  one  end,  and  the  other  end  is  made 
fast  to  the  gate  post,  in  such  a  manner  that  when  the 


GATES   AND   FASTENINGS. 


129 


gate  is  opened,  the  bow  will  be  drawn,  and  its  elasticity 
will  serve  to  shut  the  gate  when  released.    Our  artist  has 


Fig.  201. — CHINESE  DOOB  OB  GATE   SPBING. 

shown  the  Chinese  invention  attached  to  a  gate  of  Yan- 
kee pattern. 


LIFTING   GATES. 


There  are  various  forms  of  gates  not  hung  on  hinges 
at  all,  but  either  suspended  from  above  to  lift,  and  pro- 


Fig.  202. — GATE  SHUT. 

vided  with  counterweights,  or  made  in  the  form  of  mov- 
able panels.  Figure  202  represents  a  gate  for  general  use, 


130 


FENCES,  GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 


which  is  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  a  region  visited  by 
deep  snows  in  winter.  The  post,  firmly  set,  extends  a 
little  higher  than-  the  length  of  the  gate.  In  front  of 
this  and  firmly  fastened  to  it  at  bottom  and  top,  is  a 
board  at  sufficient  distance  from  the  post  for  the  gate  to 
move  easily  between  them.  An  iron  bolt  through  the 
large  post  and  the  lower  end  of  the  tall,  upright  gate 
bar,  serves  as  a  balance  for  the  gate  to  turn  on.  A 
rope  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  gate  runs  over  the 


Fig.  203.— GATE  OPEN. 

pulley  and  has  a  weight  of  iron  or  stone  that  nearly  bal- 
ances the  gate.  The  opened  gate  is  shown  in  figure  203. 
Figure  204  shows  a  gate  balanced  in  a  similar  manner, 
and  arranged  so  it  can  be  opened  by  a  person  desiring  to 
drive  through,  without  leaving  the  vehicle.  It  is  sus- 
pended by  ropes  which  pass  over  pulleys  near  the  top  of 
long  posts,  and  counterpoised  by  weights  upon  the  other 
ends  of  the  ropes.  Small  wheels  are  placed  in  the  ends 
of  the  gate  to  move  along  the  inside  of  the  posts,  and 
thus  reduce  the  friction.  The  gate  is  raised  by  maans  of 
ropes  attached  to  the  center  of  the  upper  side  of  the 
gate,  from  which  they  pass  up  to  pulleys  in  the  center  of 


GATES  AND  FASTENINGS.  131 

the  archway,  and  then  out  along  horizontal  arms  at  right 
angles  to  the  bars  which  connect  the  tops  of  the  posts. 
By  pulling  on  the  rope,  the  gate,  which  is  but  a  trifle 
heavier  than  the  balancing  weights,  is  raised,  and  after 
the  vehicle  has  passed,  the  gate  falls  of  itself.  In  passing 


Fig.  204. — A  "  SELF-OPENING  "  GATE. 

in  the  opposite  direction,  another  rope  is  pulled,  when 
the  gate  is  raised  as  before. 

Figures  206  and  207  show  a  gate  specially  designed  for 
snowy  regions.  The  latch-post,  figure  205,  is  fixed  in  the 
ground  and  connected  with  the  fence.  It  is  an  ordinary 
square  fence-post,  to  the  side  of  which  a  strip  of  board  is 
nailed,  with  a  space  of  an  inch  between  the  board  and 
the  post.  At  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  gate  a  heel- 
post  is  set  slanting,  as  shown  in  figures  206  and  207.  The 
gate  is  made  by  laying  the  five  horizontal  bars  on  a  barn 
floor  or  other  level  place,  with  one  of  the  sloping  cross- 
bars under  them  and  the  other  above  them.  Half  inch 


132 


FENCES,  GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 


holes  are  bored  through  the  three  thicknesses,  carriage 
bolts  inserted  from  below,  and  the  nuts  screwed  on.  The 
gate,  thus  secured  at  one  end,  is  carried  to  the  place 


Fig.  305.— LATCH-POST.  Fig.  206.— THE   GATE   OPEN. 

where  it  is  to  remain  and  the  other  ends  of  the  horizon- 
tal bars  secured  to  the  heel-post  by  similar  bolts.  These 
should  work  freely  in  the  holes.  The  lower  bar  is  four 


":.  207. — THE   GATE   CLOSED. 


feet  long  and  the  upper  bar  seven  feet.  To  the  heel  of 
the  upper  bar  is  hung  a  weight  nearly  heavy  enough  to 
balance  the  gate,  so  that  it  may  easily  be  swung  up,  as 
shown  in  figure  206,  and  the  weight  will  keep  it  raised. 


GATES   AND    FASTENINGS. 


133 


Figures  208  and  209  illustrate  a  very  cheap  way  of 
making  a  hole  through  a  picket  fence  in  a  place  where 
there  is  not  sufficiently  frequent  occasion  for  passing,  to 
call  for  a  more  elaborate  gate.  Strips  of  inch  board,  as 


Fig.  208. — THE   GATE  IN  POSITION. 

wide  as  the  rails  of  the  fence,  and  five  or  six  feet  long, 
are  nailed  to  the  upper  side  of  the  rails  and  three  pickets 
are  nailed  to  the  strips.  The  pieces  are  then  sawed  off, 
beveling,  and  the  pickets  detached  from  the  fence-bars 


Fig.  209. — THE  GATE  OPEN. 

by  drawing  or  cutting  the  nails.  The  gate  can  be  lifted 
up  and  set  at  one  side,  but  can  not  be  pushed  in  or  pulled 
out.  No  rope  or  other  fastening  is  required,  besides  it  is 
almost  invisible,  which  is  many  times  an  advantage.  The 
gate,  as  lifted  out  of  the  fence  and  set  on  one  side,  is 
shown  in  figure  209. 


134 


FENCES,  GATES    AND    BRIDGES. 


Figure  210  shows  an  improved  form  of  this  gate  with- 
out posts.  In  this  case  the  small  board  strips  are  cut 
only  as  long  as  the  gate  is  to  be  made  wide,  and  a  diago- 
nal cross-brace  running  between  them,  as  shown  in  the 


wuUi 


Fig.  210.— A  SMALL  GATE   IX  A  PICKET  FENCE. 

engraving.  The  hinges  are  fastened  to  the  horizontal 
bars  of  the  fence  by  wooden  pins  shown  at  a  and  b.  A 
piece  of  rope  or  a  short  wire  passing  over  the  ends  of  two 
of  the  pickets  serves  to  keep  the  gate  securely  fastened. 
These  openings  are  not  designed  for  a  regular  gate,  and 


Fig.  211. — MOVABLE  PANEL. 

could  not  be  used  for  the  passage  of  any  vehicle,  as  the 
horizontal  bars  would  be  in  the  way.  For  a  back  gate  to 
the  garden  such  an  opening  would  frequently  be  found 
convenient  and  save  many  steps. 

Figure  211  shows  a  lifting-gate,  or  rather,  a  movable 


GATES   AND    FASTENINGS.  135 

panel,  wide  enough  to  permit  the  passage  of  a  team  and 
vehicle.  This  might  be  useful  in  places  where  it  was 
not  desired  to  pass  frequently. 

Figure  212  shows  another  very  convenient  form  of  gate 
for  use  in  a  country  where  the  snow  is  deep.     It  is  fitted 


Fig.  212. — A  GATE  NOT  CLOGGED  WITH  SNOW. 

in  a  strong  frame,  and  is  balanced  by  weights,  so  that  it 
can  be  easily  raised.  The  engraving  sufficiently  explains 
how  this  very  useful  gate  is  made  and  hung  in  the  frame. 


RUSTIC  GATES. 

A  picturesque  rustic  gate  is  shown  in  figure  213.  The 
fence  and  posts  are  made  to  correspond.  Its  manner  of 
construction  is  clearly  shown  in  the  illustration.  The 
vases  on  the  top  of  the  posts  may  be  omitted,  unless  time 
can  be  taken  to  keep  them  properly  watered. 

A  very  neat,  cheap,  and  strong  rustic  gate  is  shown  in 
figure  214.  The  large  post  and  the  two  uprights  of  the 
gate  are  of  red  cedar.  The  horizontal  bars  may  be  of 
the  same  or  other  wood.  The  longer  upright  is  five  and 
a  half  feet  long,  the  shorter  one  four  and  a  half  feet. 


136 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


The  ends  of  the  former  are  cut  down  to  serve  as  hinges, 
as  shown  in  the  engraving.    Five  holes  are  bored  ihrough 


.  213. — ORNAMENTAL  GATE. 


each  of  the  upright  pieces,  two  inches  in  diameter,  into 
which  the  ends  of  the  horizontal  bars  are  inserted  and 


Fig.  211— LIGHT  BUSTIC  GATE. 

wedged  securely.     For  the  upper  hinge  a  piece  of  plank 
is  bored  to  receive  the  gate,  and  the  other  end  reduced 


GATES   ANI>    FASTENINGS.  137 

and  driven  into  a  hole  in  the  post,  or  nailed  securely  to 
its  top.  A  cedar  block,  into  which  a  two-inch  hole  has 
been  bored,  is  partially  sunk  in  the  ground  to  receive  the 
lower  end  of  the  upright  piece.  A  wooden  latch  is  in 
better  keeping  with  the  gate  than  an  iron  one. 


BALANCE   GATES. 

Figure  215  is  a  modernized  form  of  a  gate  which  has 
for  generations  been  popular  in  New  England  and  the 
Middle  States.  In  the  primitive  method  of  construction, 
the  top  bar  consisted  of  the  smoothly  trimmed  trunk  of 


Fig.  215.— BALANCE  GATE. 

a  straight  young  tree,  with  the  butt  end  projecting  like  a 
"heel"  beyond  the  post  upon  which  it  turned.  Upon 
its  extremity  a  heavy  boulder,  or  box  of  smaller  stones, 
served  as  a  counterweight.  In  the  gate  represented  here- 
with the  top  stick  is  of  sawn  timber,  upon  the  heel  of 
which  the  large  stone  is  held  by  an  iron  dowel.  The 
other  end  of  the  top  bar  rests,  when  the  gate  is  closed, 
upon  an  iron  pin,  driven  diagonally  into  the  post,  as 
shown  in  the  illustration.  A  smaller  iron  pin  is  pushed 
into  the  post  immediately  above  the  end  of  the  top  bar, 
to  secure  the  gate  against  being  opened  by  unruly  ani- 
mals, which  may  attempt  to  get  in, 


138 


FENCES,    GATES   AXD   BRIDGES. 


Figure  216  shows  a  balance  gate  which  is  used  in  some 
parts  of  North  Carolina.     It  is  a  picket  gate  framed  into 


Fig.  216. — CABOLINA  BALANCE  GATE. 

the  lower  side  of  a  long  pole,  which  is  hung  near  its 
middle  to  a  pivot  driven  into  the  top  of  the  gate-post. 


Fig.  217. — A  TIDY  BALANCE  GATE. 

Figure  217  shows  a  more  elegant  form,  the  "heel"  of 
the  gate  remaining  on  a  level  with  the  top  line  of  the 
fence. 


GATE   FOE   SNOWY   WEATHER. 

The  gate  shown  in  figure  218  is  suitable  for  all  weather, 
but  especially  useful  when  there  is  a  deep  snow;  for  it  is 
easily  lifted  up  above  the  snow,  and  kept  in  place  by  put- 
ting a  pin  through  holes  in  the  hinge-bar,  \\hich  is  firmly 
fastened  to  the  gate  post.  The  hinge-bar  should  be  of 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


139 


good,  tough  wood,  and  made  round  and  smooth,  so  that 
the  gate  can  swing  and  slide  easily.  Boards  can  be  used 
in  place  of  pickets  if  preferable.  The  latch-post  to  the 


Fig.  218.— GATE  FOR  SNOWY  WEATHER. 

right,  has  a  long  slot  for  the  latch  to  work  in,  instead  of 
a  hasp,  so  that  it  can  be  fastened  when  the  gate  is  at  any 
height. 


WEST   INDIA   FARM   GATES. 


The  illustrations,  figures  219  and  220,  show  two  forms 
of  gates  used  on  the  island  of  Jamaica.     These  gates  are 


Fig.  219.— WIDE  FARM  GATE, 


140  ,      FEKCES,  GATES  AND   BBIDGES. 

twenty-one  feet  long,  each,  and  cannot  possibly  sag, 
even  if  any  number  of  small  boys  swing  on  them.  In 
gate  figure  220  the  main  post  is  nine  by  six  inches;  the 
bars — marked  2,  3,  5  and  7 — are  let  in  the  wood  three 
inches  on  the  upper  side  and  one  and  a  half  inches  on 
the  lower.  The  tenons,  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines, 
go  entirely  through  the  posts,  and  are  fastened  with 
pins.  Brace  6  is  attached  to  the  upper  bar  eighteen 
inches  beyond  the  center,  F;  D  is  a  stout  fence  wire 


Fig.  220.— ANOTHER  WIDE  FARM  GATE. 

fastened  by  a  screw  nut  at  E;  the  wire,  B,  is  held 
tightly  by  the  screw  hook,  A;  the  iron  band,  9,  is  an 
inch  thick  and  is  bolted  to  the  post.  It  works  on  a 
pivot  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  diameter,  and  which 
turns  on  a  flat  piece  of  iron  at  the  bottom  of  a  piece 
of  a  one  and  a  half  inch  iron  pipe,  which  is  soldered 
with  molten  lead  in  the  stone,  10.  Only  hard  wood  is 
used  in  the  construction.  In  the  gate  shown  in  figure  219, 
the  construction  differs  from  the  one  just  described  in 
that  it  has  a  light  chain  fastened  in  the  shackle,  C, 
and  is  screwed  firmly  at  A.  It  is  attached  to  the  post, 
ff,  by  a  pivot,  as  seen  in  our  illustration. 


GATES  AND  FASTENINGS.  141 

GATE  HINGES  OF  WOOD. 

It  is  often  convenient  and  economical,  especially  in 
newly  settled  regions,  where  blacksmiths  and  hardware 
stores  are  not  at  hand,  to  supply  hinges  for  gates,  to  make 
them  of  wood.  The  simplest  and  most  primitive  form  is 
shown  in  figure  221.  A  post  is  selected  having  a  large 
limb  standing  out  nearly  at  right  angles.  A  perpendicu- 
lar hole  in  this  secures  the  top  of  the  rear  gate  standard. 
The  foot  rests  in  a  stout  short  post,  set  against  the  main 


Fig.  221.  Fig.  222. 

post.  A  small  gimlet  hole  should  extend  outward  and 
downward  from  the  lowest  side  or  point  in  the  hole  in 
the  short  post,  to  act  as  a  drain,  or  the  water  collecting 
in  it  would  be  likely  to  soon  rot  both  the  standard  and 
the  short  post  itself.  Another  form  is  to  hold  the  top  by 
a  strong  wooden  withe.  A  third  form  is  illustrated  in 
figure  222,  in  which  the  top  of  the  standard  passes 
through  a  short  piece  of  sawed  or  split  plank,  spiked  or 
pinned  upon  the  top  of  the  post. 


FENCES,    GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 


The  form  shown  at  figure  223  is  made  of  a  stout  lithe 
sapling  or  limb  of  beech,  hickory  or  other  tough  hard 
wood  or,  if  it  is  attainable,  a  piece  of  iron  rod. 


Fig.  223. — A  WITHE   HINGE. 

A  gate  can  be  made  without  hinges  by  having  the 
hanging  stile  somewhat  longer  than  the  front  stile,  and 
making  both  ends  rounded.  The  lower  one  is  to  work 


Fig.  224.— GATE  WITHOUT  HINGES. 

in  a  hole  in  the  end  of  a  short  post  raised  BO  that  the  soil 
will  not  readily  get  in,  and  the  upper  one  works  in  a 
hole  made  in  an  oak  piece  attached  to  the  top  of  the  gate 
post.  Gates  of  this  kind  can  be  made  and  hung  with  but 
little  more  expense  than  bars,  and  will  be  found  far  more 
convenient  and  saving  of  time  than  the  latter. 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


143 


Figure  225  represents  a  small  hand-gate  hung  upon  an 
iron  pin  driven  into  a  hole  bored  in  the  bottom  of  the 
hinge-post,  and  one  of  similar  size  and  material  bent  to  a 


Fig.  225.— SOCKET  HINGES. 

sharp  angle,  and  fitted  in  the  top.  The  lower  pin  rests 
in  the  sill  and  the  upper  one  extends  through  the  post 
to  which  the  gate  is  hung. 


DOUBLE  GATES. 

Figure  226  shows  a  substantial  method  of  hanging  two 
gates  to  the  same  post.     The  post  may  be  of  masonry 


Fig.  2:26. — A  DOUBLE  GATE. 


144 


FEXCES,  GATES   AXD   BRIDGES. 


and  the  hinge  bolts  pass  through  the  post,  thus  prevent- 
ing any  sagging.  It  is  frequently  convenient  to  have 
gates  in  the  barnyard  hung  in  this  manner,  then  yards 


Fig.  227. — DOUBLE  BALANCE   GATE. 

may  be  shut  off  one  way  or  the  other  by  simply  swinging 
the  gates. 

Figure  227  represents  a  balanced  gate  for  a  double  drive- 
way.   The  total  length  is  thirty  feet — sixteen  feet  on  one 


Fig.  228.— DOUBLE  BALANCE   GATE  WITH  STONE  POST. 

side  of  the  supporting  post  and  fourteen  feet  on  the 
other.  The  horizontal  top-piece  may  be  of  sawn  timber, 
or  better  still,  of  a  round  pole  cut  from  a  straight  young 
tree,  the  larger  end  being  on  the  short  side,  its  additional 
thickness  serving  to  counterbalance  the  longer  extremity 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


145 


of  the  gate.  The  vertical  strips  of  the  original  gate,  from 
which  the  sketch  was  made,  were  lag-sticks  from  an  old 
tread  horse-power,  and  the  chain  was  a  part  of  the  re- 
mains of  a  worn-out  chain  pump.  It  is  held  in  place  by 
staples  driven  into  the  vertical 
pieces,  as  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion. A  pin  pushed  into  the  post 
at  either  end  of  the  large  top  bar  | 
fastens  it  securely  when  closed. 

Figure  228  is  a  gate  which  com- 
bines some  of  the  features  of  the 
preceding  two.  The  stone  pillar 
is  round,  three  feet  across  and  four 
and  a  half  feet  high.  A  post  is 
placed  in  the  center,  upon  the  end 
of  which  the  bar  rests,  bearing  the  two  gates.  The  fence 
is  arranged  in  a  sweeping  curve,  so  that  only  one  passage- 
way can  be  open  at  once. 

Figure  230  shows  a  style  of  double  gate,  which  has 


Fig.  229.— THE  GATE 
LATCH. 


Fig.  230.— A  DOUBLE   HINGELESS   GATE. 

been  found  very  useful  on  large  stock  farms,  where  it  is 
necessary  to  drive  herds  of  cattle  through  it.  Two  high 
posts  are  set  in  the  ground  about  twenty  feet  apart,  and 
a  scantling  is  put  on,  which  extends  from  the  top  of  one 
post  to  that  of  the  other.  A  two-inch  hole  is  bored  in 
the  center  of  this  scantling,  and  a  similar  hole  in  a  block 


146  FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

of  wood,  planted  firmly  in  the  ground  in  the  center  of 
the  gateway.  The  middle  post  of  the  gate  frame  is 
rounded  at  each  end  to  fit  these  holes,  and  this  post  is 
the  pivot  on  which  the  gate  turns.  With  this  gate  one 
cow  cannot  block  the  passage,  besides  there  is  no  sagging 
of  gate  posts,  as  the  weight  of  the  gate  is  wholly 
upon  the  block  in  the  center.  To  make  the  latch, 
figure  229,  a  bar  of  iron  one  and  a  half  inch  wide  and 
eighteen  inches  long  is  bolted  to  one  of  the  end  uprights 
of  the  gate,  and  a  similar  bar  to  one  of  the  posts  of  the 
gateway.  For  a  catch,  a  rod  of  three-eighth  inch  iron 
passes  through  a  half-inch  hole  near  the  end  of  the  bar 
upon  the  gateway.  This  rod  is  bent  in  the  form  shown 
in  the  engraving,  and  welded.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
lifting  of  this  bent  rod  will  allow  the  two  bars  to  come 
together,  and  when  dropped  it  will  hold  them  firmly. 


DOUBLE-LATCHED   GATES. 

Figure  231  represents  a  substantial  farm  gate  with  two 
latches.     This  is  a  very  useful  precaution  against  the 


Fig.  231.— A  DOUBLE-LATCIIED  FARM   GATE. 

wiles  of  such  cattle  as  have  learned  to  unfasten  ordinary 
gate-latches.  The  latches  work  independently  of  each 
other,  the  wires,  b,  5,  being  fastened  to  the  hand  lever  a, 


GATES   AND   FASTEXIXGS. 


147 


and  then  to  the  latches  e,  e.  A  roguish  animal  will 
sometimes  open  a  gate  by  raising  the  latch  with  its  nose, 
but  if  one  attempt  it  with  this,  it  can  only  raise  one  latch 
at  a  time,  always  the  upper  one,  while  the  lower  one  re- 
mains fastened.  As  soon  as  the  animal  lets  go,  the  latch 
springs  back  and  catches  again.  A  hog  cannot  get 
through,  for  the  lower  latch  prevents  the  gate  from  open- 
ing sufficiently  to  allow  it  to  pass.  A  cow  will  find  it 
difficult  to  open  the  gate,  because  she  cannot  raise  the 
gate  high  enough  to  unlatch  it.  The  latches  e,  e,  work  up 
and  down  in  the  slides  c,  c,  and  when  the  gate  is  fastened 
they  are  about  half-way  between  the  top  and  bottom  of 
the  slides. 

Figure  232  shows  another  form  of  double  latches, 
which  are  closed  by  absolute  motion,  instead  of  depend- 


.  232.  —  A  GATE  FOB  ALL  LIVE  STOCK. 


ing  upon  their  own  weight.  There  are  two  latches  fast- 
ened to  a  jointed  lever,  so  that  when  the  upper  end  or 
handle  is  pushed  backward  or  foward,  the  latches  both 
move  in  the  same  direction.  The  construction  of  the 
gate,  and  the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  latches  and 
lever,  are  plainly  shown. 


IMPROVED   SLIDE  GATE. 

The  old  style  slide  gate  is  an  un wieldly  contrivance, 
and  the  only  excuse  for  its  use  is  its  simplicity  and 
cheapness.  Numerous  devices  have  been  invented  and 


148  FENCES,    GATES  AND  BE!  DOES. 

patented  to  make  it  slide  easier  and  swing  easier,  but 
their  cost  has  prevented  them  from  coming  into  general 
use,  and  the  old  gate  still  requires  the  same  amount  of 
tugging  and  heaving  to  open  and  close  it. 

Figure  233  shows  the  attachment.  The  blocks  at  top 
and  bottom  are  hard  wood,  one  inch  and  a  quarter  thick.  - 
The  two  boards  should  also  be  of  hard  wood.  Between 
the  boards  are  one  or  two  small  iron  or  hard  wood  wheels, 
turning  upon  half  inch  bolts,  which  pass  through  both 
boards.  The  bars  of  the  gate  run  on  these  wheels.  The 


Fig.  333.  Fig.  234. — THE  GATE  COMPLETE. 

gate  complete,  with  attachment,  is  shown  in  figure  234,  the 
gate  being  closed.  To  open  the  gate,  run  it  back  nearly 
to  the  middle  bar,  then  swing  open.  As  the  attachment 
turns  with  the  gate,  the  lower  pivot  should  be  greased 
occasionally.  It  is  well  to  fasten  a  barbed  wire  along  the 
upper  edge  of  the  top  bar,  to  prevent  stock  from  reach- 
ing over  and  bearing  down  on  the  gate.  Where  hogs  are 
enclosed,  it  is  advisable  to  fasten  a  barbed  wire  along  the 
lower  edge  of  the  bottom  bar,  as  it  keeps  small  pigs  from 
passing  under,  and  prevents  large  ones  from  lifting  the 
gate  up,  or  trying  to  root  under. 

A   COMBINED  HINGE   AND   SLIDING   GATE. 

The  illustrations,  figures  235  and  236,  show  a  gate  very 
handy  for  barnyards.     It  is  fourteen  feet  wide  for  ordi- 


GATES   AND   FASTENINGS. 


149 


nary  use,  and  has  three  short  posts.  The  middle  one  is 
movable.  A  box  of  two  inch  boards  made  to  fit  the  post 
is  planted  in  the  ground  ;  in  this  the  post  is  set,  and  can 
be  removed  at  pleasure.  This  post  is  placed  three  feet 
from  the  outside  one.  The  hinge  is  made  of  hard  wood, 


Fig.  235. — THE  GATE  OPEN. 

with  a  wheel  six  inches  in  diameter,  as  shown  in  the  en- 
graving. It  should  be  so  constructed  that  the  gate  will 
move  freely,  but  not  too  loosely.  It  is  supported  at  the 
top  by  a  cap,  placed  diagonally  across,  and  at  the  bottom 
by  a  block  of  locust  or  cedar  under  it.  The  middle  up- 


Fig.  236. — THE  GATE  CLOSED. 

rights  of  the  gate  should  be  placed  a  little  to  one  side 
of  the  center,  so  that  the  gate  can  be  balanced  under 
the  roller.  Wooden  catches  are  placed  in  the  middle 
post,  upon  which  the  gate  rests.  To  open  the  gate,  push 
it  back  to  the  middle  post,  elevate  the  gate  slightly,  and 
it  will  roll  down  to- the  center,  where  it  can  be  readily 
opened.  Figure  235  shows  the  gate  open,  and  in  figure 


150  FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 

236  it  is  seen  closed.  This  gate  has  no  latch.  A  barn- 
yard gate  is  not  usually  opened  wide.  A  space  large 
enough  to  admit  a  man  or  horse  is  all  that  is  necessary  in 
most  cases.  It  is  more  easily  opened  than  the  ordinary 
gate,  and  it  will  stay  where  it  is  placed.  By  cutting  a 
notch  in  the  third  board,  and  elevating  it  to  the  upper 
catch  on  the  middle  post,  a  passage  is  made  for  hogs  and 
sheep,  excluding  larger  animals. 


GATES   OF  WOOD   AND   WIEB. 

One  of  the  cheapest  and  most  popular  styles  of  farm 
gate  is  made  of   plain  or  barbed  wire,  supported  by 


Fig.  237. — A  NEAT  GATE  OF  SCANTLING  AND  WIHE. 

wooden  frames.  Figure  237  shows  a  very  neat  form  of 
combination  gate.  To  make  it,  obtain  three  uprights, 
three  inches  by  one  and  a  half  inches,  five  and  a  half 
feet  long,  and  four  strips,  three  inches  by  one  inch, 
eleven  feet  long.  Cut  shoulders  in  the  ends  of  the  strips, 
and  saw  out  corresponding  notches  in  the  uprights; 


GATES    AXD   FASTEXIXGS.  151 

make  these  one  and  a  half  inch,  or  half  the  width  of  the 
strips.  The  bottom  notch  is  two  and  a  half  inches  from 
the  end  of  the  upright,  and  the  upper  one  nine  and  a 
half  inches  from  the  top  end.  Fit  the  strips  into  the 
notches.  There  is  then  a  space  of  one  inch  between  the 
strips,  into  which  put  inch  strips,  so  as  to  make  all  solid, 
and  fasten  together  with  carriage  bolts.  Braces  three  by 
one  and  a  half  inches  are  inserted,  and  held  in  place  by 
bolts  or  wrought  nails.  Bore  as  many  holes  in  the  end- 
pieces  for  one-quarter  inch  eye-bolts,  as  it  is  desired  to 
have  wires.  Twist  the  wire  firmly  into  the  bolts  on  one 
upright,  and  secure  the  other  end  to  the  corresponding 
bolts  on  the  upright  at  the  opposite  end.  In  stretching 
the  wires,  pass  them  alternately  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
c*enter  piece,  and  fasten  in  place  by  staples.  This  will, 
in  a  measure,  prevent  warping.  By  screwing  down  the 
bolts  with  a  wrench,  the  wires  may  be  drawn  as  tightly 
as  desired.  The  hinges  are  to  be  put  on  with  bolts,  and 
any  sort  of  fastening  may  be  used  that  is  most  conven- 
ient. Barbed  or  smooth  wire  may  be  used. 


A  GOOD  AND  CHEAP  FARM  GATE. 

Figure  238  shows  a  gate  of  common  fence  boards  and 
wire,  which  can  be  made  by  any  farmer.  The  longer 
upright  piece,  seven  feet  long,  may  be  made  of  a  round 
stick,  flattened  a  little  on  one  side.  The  horizontal  bars 
are  of  common  fence  boards  cut  to  the  desired  length,  and 
the  shorter,  vertical  piece  may  be  made  of  scantling,  two 
by  four  inches.  Three  wires,  either  plain  or  barbed,  are 
stretched  at  equal  intervals  between  the  upper  and  lower 
bar.  A  double  length  of  wire  is  extended  from  the  top 
of  the  long  upright  to  the  opposite  lower  corner  of  the 


152 


FENCES,    GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 


gate.     A  stout  stick  is  inserted  between  the  two  strands 
of  this  diagonal  brace,  by  which  it  is  twisted  until  it  is 


Fig.  238. — GOOD  AND   CHEAP  FARM  GATE. 

sufficiently  taut.     If  the  gate  should  at  any  time  begin 
to  sag,  a  few  turns  brings  it  back. 


AN  IMPROVED  WIRE   GATE. 


Figure    239  shows  an    improved   form  of  wire  farm 
gate,  in  which  the  wires  can  be  made  tight  at  pleas- 


Fig.  239. — IMPBOVED  WISE  GATE. 

ure.     Instead  of  attaching  the  wires  to  both  of  the  end 
standards   of  the  gate,  a  sliding   standard    is  put    on 


GATES   AND   FASTENINGS.  -     153 

near  the  end,  to  which  the  wires  are  fastened.  This  is 
secured  to  the  main  standard  by  two  long  screw  bolts, 
leaving  a  space  between  the  two  of  five  or  six  inches. 
The  wires  are  tightened  by  turning  up  the  nuts. 

A  plainer  but  very  effective  gate  is  shown  in  figure  240 
The  uprights  are  three  and  one  quarter  by  two  inches, 
the  horizontals  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  long,  by  three  and 
a  half  by  two  inches,  all  of  pine.  The  horizontals  are 
mortised  into  the  uprights,  the  bolts  of  the  hinges 
strengthening  the  joints.  The  barbed  wires  prevent  ani- 


Fig.  240.— GATE  OF  WOOD  AND  WIBB. 

mals  from  reaching  over  and  through  the  gate.  To  put, 
in  and  tighten  the  wires,  bore  a  three-eighth  inch  hole 
in  the  upright,  pass  the  wires  through,  one  or  two  inches 
projecting,  plug  up  tightly  with  a  wooden  pin,  and  bend 
down  the  ends  of  the  wire,  Measure  the  distance  to  the 
other  upright,  and  cut  the  wire  two  inches  longer.  Pass 
the  wire  through  the  whole  and  tighten  with  pincers. 
When  the  wire  is  stretched,  plug  up  with  a  wooden  pin, 
and  then  bend  down  the  wire.  If  the  wire  stretches,  it 
can  be  tightened  very  easily. 

Figure  241  represents  a  light  gate,  that  a  child  can 
handle,  which  does  not  sag  or  get  out  of  repair,  and  is 
cattle  proof.  The  materials  are  two  boards,  twelve  or 
fourteen  feet  long,  three  uprights,  the  end  piece  three 


154 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


and  one-half  feet  and  the  center  four  and  one-half  feet, 
two  strands  of  barbed  wire,  one  between  the  boards,  and 


341. — BARBED  WIRE  IN  A  GATE. 


the  other  at  the  top  of  the  uprights.     It  is  hung  the 
same  as  the  common  form  of  gate. 


TAKING    UP  THE   SAG   IN   GATES. 

Various  means  have  been  devised  for  overcoming  the 
sagging  of  gates.     In  figure  242  the  hinge-post  of  the 


Fig.  242. — REMEDY  FOR   A   SAGGING  GATE. 

gate-frame  extends  somewhat  above  the  upper  bar  of  the 
gate.     A  board  is  fastened  to  the  top  of  this  post,  a, 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


155 


which  runs  downward  to  b,  near  the  middle  of  the  upper 
cross-bar,  and  then  connects  with  a  short  double  band — 
one  on  each  side  of  the  long  board — which  is  provided 
with  a  bolt  fitting  into  notches,  c,  cut  in  the  under  side 
of  the  upper  bar  of  the  gate.  The  form  of  the  double- 
latch  piece,  with  its  bolts,  and  its  attachment  to  the 
board  is  shown  at  d. 

Figure  243  represents  an  arrangement  which  not  only 
provides  for  taking  up  the  sag,  but  also  for  raising  the 
gate  above  encumbering  snow.  The  gate  is  made  of  or- 
dinary inch  boards  put  together  with  carriage  bolts,  upon 
which  the  joints  play  freely.  The  end  of  the  gate,  a,  is 
made  of  two  boards,  and  the  post,  b,  is  four  by  six  inches. 


Fig.  343. — A  LIFT-BAR  FOR  A  GATE. 

One  board  of  the  end,  a,  is  notched.  The  diagonal  piece, 
c,  is  fastened  at  d,  by  means  of  a  bolt  through  it  and  the 
lower  board.  The  end,  a,  of  the  diagonal  piece,  is 
shaped  to  fit  the  notches,  by  means  of  which  the  gate  can 
be  raised  and  lowered.  It  can  also  be  used  as  a  passage 
for  pigs  between  fields,  by  simply  raising  the  gate  suffi- 
ciently to  let  them  go  through.  A  board,  not  shown  in 
the  engraving,  is  tacked  to  the  notched  board,  to  prevent 
the  diagonal  piece  from  slipping  out  of  its  place. 

A  much  firmer  gate  is  shown  in  figure  244.  The 
hinge-post  is  about  twice  the  height  of  the  gate,  and  has 
a  cap-piece,  «,  near  the  top.  This  cap  is  of  2  by  6  hard- 


156 


FENCES,  GATES  AND  BEIDGES. 


wood,  strengthened  by  two  bolts,  e,  e,  and  held  in  place 

by  two  wooden  pins,  driven  just  above  it  and  through 

c   </ 

JLO 


Fig.  244. — A  REMEDY   FOR  A   SAGGING   GATE. 

the  tenon  end  of  the  post.  Wedges  c  and  d  are  driven 
in  the  cap  on  each  side  of  the  post.  Should  the  gate 
sag,  the  wedge,  d,  may  be  loosened,  and  c  driven  further 
down.  The  lower  end  of  the  gate  turns  in  a  hole  bored 
in  a  hard-wood  block  placed  in  the  ground  near  the  foot 
of  the  post. 


Fig.  245. 

Figure  245   shows  a  gate  similarly  hung  on  pivots 
driven  into  the  ends  of  the  hinge-bar.    These  play  in  eye- 


CRATES   AND   FASTENINGS. 


157 


bolts  which  extend  through  the  post  to  which  the  gate  is 
hung,  and  are  fastened  by  nuts  on  the  other  side.  As 
the  gate  sags,  the  nut  on  the  upper  bolt  is  turned  up, 
drawing  the  upper  end  of  the  hinge-bar  toward  the  post, 
and  lifting  the  gate  back  to  a  horizontal  position. 


GOOD   GATE   LATCHES. 


Some  cows  become  so  expert,  they  can  lift  almost  any 
gate  latch.  To  circumvent  this  troublesome  habit, 
latches  made  as  shown  in  figure  246  will  fill  this  bill 
exactly.  It  is  a  piece  of  iron  bar,  drawn  down  at  one 


Fig.  346.— GATE  LATCH. 


Fig.  347. — SPRING  GATE  CATCH. 

end,  and  cut  -with  a  thread  to  screw  into  the  gate  post. 
A  stirrup,  or  crooked  staple,  made  as  shown,  is  fitted  by 
a  screw  bolt  and  nut  to  the  bar.  A  small  bolt  must  be 
driven  in  to  keep  the  stirrup  from  being  thrown  over. 
A  projecting  slat  on  the  gate,  when  it  is  shut,  lifts  the 
stirrup  and  holds  the  gate.  This  latch  is  too  much  for 
breechy  cows,  and  they  are  never  able  to  get  "the  hang 
of  it." 

A  simple  catch  for  a  gate  may  easily  be  made  from  a 


158 


FEXCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


piece  of  seasoned  hickory,  or  other  elastic  wood,  cut  in" 
the  shape  as  shown  at  a  in  figure  247.  This  is  fast-1 
ened  strongly  to  the  side  of  the  gate,  with  the  pin,  c, 
working  through  the  top  loosely,  so  that  it  will  play 
easily.  The  catch,  b,  is  fastened  to  the  wall  or  post,  as 
the  case  may  be.  The  operation  will  be  easily  under- 
stood from  the  illustration,  and  it  will  be  found  a  service- 
able, sure,  and  durable  contrivance.  The  gate  cannot  be 
swung  to  without  catching,  and  it  may  swing  boih  ways. 
A  very  simple  and  convenient  style  of  fastening  is  il- 
lustrated in  figures  248  to  251.  It  can  be  made  of  old 


Fig.  248.— LATCH  IN  POSITION. 


Fig.  250. 


buggy  springs,  or  any  flat  steel,  and  should  be  one  inch 
broad  by  three  six-tenth  inch  thick,  and  about  eighteen 
inches  long,  at  the  distance  of  four  inches  from  the  lower 
end.  The  lever  is  slightly  bent,  and  has  two  screw  or 
bolt  holes  for  fastening,  figure  249.  Eight  inches  of  the 
top  portion  is  rounded  and  bent  at  right  angles.  The 
upper  part  passes  through  a  narrow  mortise  in  the  head- 
post  of  the  gate  figure  248.  A  flat  staple,  large  enough 
to  go  over  the  spring  holds  it  in  place.  An  iron  hook, 


GATES  AND   FASTENINGS. 


159 


figure  250,  driven  into  the  post,  holds  the  latch.     A 
wooden  lever,  bolted  to  the  top  board  of  the  gate,  figure 


Fig.  251. — LATCH  WITH   TOP  LEVER. 

251,  enables  a  person  on  horseback  to  open  or  close  the 
gate.  This  latch  can  be  applied  to  any  kind  of  a  gate, 
and  is  especially  desirable  in  yards  or  gardens,  when,  by 
the  addition  of  a  chain  and  weight,  one  may  always  feel 
that  the  gate  is  securely  closed.  The  latch  does  not  cost 
more  than  fifty  cents,  and  if  properly  made  and  put  on 
will  last  as  long  as  the  gate. 


Fig.  252.— GATE  LATOH. 

In  figure  252  is  represented  a  style  of  gate  latch  in  use 
in  some  Southern  States.     It  possesses  marked  ad  van- 


160 


FENCES,    GATES    AND   BRIDGES. 


tages,  for  certain  purposes,  over  others.     It  holds  to  an 
absolute  certainty,  under  all  circumstances,  and  by  allow- 


Fig.  253.— LATCH  AND  PIN. 

ing  the  latch  pin  to  rest  on  the  bottom  of  the  slot  in  the 
post,  it  relieves  the  hinges  and  post  from  all  strain.  The 
latch  may  be  formed  by  a  common  strap-hinge,  made  to 
work  very  easily,  and  the  pin  should  be  either  a  strong 
oak  one  or  an  iron  bolt  or  "lag  screw." 
Figure  253  shows  a  latch  which  cannot  be  opened  by 


Fig.  254.— GATE  LATCH. 


the  most  ingenious  cow  or  other  animal.     The  latch  of 
wood  slides  in  two  iron  or  wood  bands  screwed  to  the 


GATES   AND   FASTENINGS.  161 

gate.  It  is  moved  by  a  knob  between  the  bands,  which 
also  prevents  it  from  going  too  far.  The  outer  end  is 
sloping  and  furnished  with  a  notch.  It  slides  through 
a  mortise  in  the  gate  post,  indicated  by  dotted  lines. 
"When  the  gate  is  closed,  the  latch  is  slid  through  the 
mortise,  and  the  drop-pin,  which  plays  vertically  in  two 
iron  bands,  is  lifted  by  the  slope  on  the  latch,  and  drops 
into  the  notch.  It  can  be  opened  only  by  lifting  the 
drop-pin,  and  sliding  back  the  latch  at  the  same  time. 
Figure  254  shows  a  very  ingenious  and  reliable  form 
of  latch.  The  curved  tail  must  be  thin  enough  and  suf- 
ficiently soft  to  admit  of  bending,  either  by  a  pair  of 
large  pincers  or  a  hammer,  just  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  the 
passage  of  the  pin  bolted  through  the  front  stile  of  the 
gate.  As  the  gate  closes,  the  latch  lifts  out  and  the  tail- 
piece advances.  The  catch-pin  cannot  possibly  move  out, 
unless  the  whole  end  of  the  gate  moves  up  and  forward. 


TOP  HINGE  OF  FARM  GATE. 

Continual  use,  more  or  less  slamming,  and  the  action 
of  the  weather,  make  the  gate  settle  somewhat,  but 


Fig.  255. — TOP  HINGE  OF  FABM  GATE. 

the  illustration,  figure  255,  shows  a  hinge  which  obvi- 
ates this  trouble.  The  upper  hinge  is  made  of  a  half- 
inch  rod,  about  sixteen  inches  long,  with  an  eye  on  one 
end,  and  a  long  screw-thread  cut  upon  the  other.  This 


162 


FENCES,    GATES  AHD   BRIDGES. 


thread  works  in  a  nut,  which  nut  has  a  bolt  shank  and 
nut,  whereby  it  is  firmly  attached  to  the  top  bar  of  the 
gate.  If  the  gate  sags  at  all,  it  must  be  simply  lifted  off 
the  thumbs,  and  the  hinge  given  a  turn  or  two  in  the 
nut;  and  the  same  is  to  be  done  in  case  of  subsequent 
sagging.  The  hinge  bolt  must,  of  course,  have  some 
opportunity  to  move  in  the  stile,  and  must  be  set  long 
enough  at  first  to  allow  the  slack  to  be  taken  up  when- 
ever found  necessary. 


GATEWAYS  IKT   WIRE   FENCE. 

Kegular  posts  and  bars  at  a  passage-way  through  a 
wire  fence  are  inconvenient  and  unsightly.     A  good  sub- 


Fig.  256.— GATEWAY  IN  A  WIRE  FENCE. 

stitute  for  a  gate  is  illustrated  in  figure  256.  Light  gal- 
vanized iron  chains  have  a  "swivel"  near  the  end,  by 
which  they  may  be  loosened  or  tightened,  so  as  to  be  of 


Figs.  257  and  258. — BUCKLE  ANT>  SNAP  HOOK  FOB  CHAIN  GATE. 

just  the  right  length,  and  a  snap-hook  at  the  other.  These 
are  both  shown  of  larger  size  in  figures  257  and  258. 


GATES  AHD   FASTENIHGS. 


163 


The  chains  are  attached  by  screw-eyes  to  the  posts,  and 
should  correspond  in  number,  as  well  as  in  position,  with 
the  wires.  Thus  they  appear  to  be  a  continuation  of  the 
same,  and  as  they  are  larger,  they  appear  to  the  animals 
to  be  stronger,  and  even  more  dangerous  than  barbed 


Fie:.  259.— THE   GATE   CLOSED. 

wire — hence  are  avoided.  A  short  rod  of  iron  may  be 
made  to  connect  them  at  the  hook-ends,  and  so  in  open- 
ing and  closing  the  way,  they  may  all  be  moved  at  once. 
A  cheaper  and  simpler  form  of  wire  gate  is  shown  in 
figures  259  and  260.  It  consists  of  the  same  number  of 
strands  as  in  the  adjoining  fence,  attached  to  a  post  in 
the  ordinary  way  at  one  end,  while  the  other  wire  ends 
are  secured  to  an  iron  rod.  This  rod  is  pointed  at  the 
lower  end,  and  when  the  gate  is  closed,  as  seen  in  figure 


Fig.  260.— THE  GATE  OPEN, ' 

259,  this  end  passes  down  through  a  loop,  and  the  upper 
end  is  secured  to  a  hook.  In  opening  the  gate,  the  rod 
is  loosened  and  swings  out,  when  the  sharp  end  is  thrust 
into  the  earth,  or  a  hole  in  a  wooden  block  set  in  the 
ground  at  the  proper  place  to  receive  it. 


164 


FENCES,    GATES  AKD   BRIDGES. 


Figure  261  show*  a  somewhat  similar  arrangement. 
The  gate  wires  are  fastened  to  one  post  with  staples,  and 
attach  the  loose  ends  to  a  five-foot  pole.  To  shut  the 
gate,  take  this  pole  or  gate-head  and  put  the  lower  end 


Fig.  261.  —A  WIRE  GATE. 

back  of  the  lower  pin,  and  spring  the  upper  end  behind 
the  one  above.  If  the  wires  are  all  of  the  right  length, 
they  will  be  taut  and  firm.  Two  slats  fastened  to  the 
gate  wires  will  keep  them  from  tangling.  A  short  post 
set  at  one  side  of  the  gateway  may  be  found  convenient 
to  hold  the  gate  when  open. 


CHAPTEE    XII. 


WICKETS    AND    STILES. 
IRON  WICKETS. 

Wickets  and  stiles  are  convenient  passageways  through 
or  over  fences  crossing  foot-paths.  The  bow  wicket  has 
the  advantage  of  providing  a  gate  "  always  open  and 
always  shut,"  and  not  apt  to  get  out  of  repair.  A 
wrought  iron  bow  wicket,  with  short  vertical  bars,  is 
shown  in  figure  262.  Figure  263  has  the  bars  horizon- 


WICKETS   AND   STILES. 


165 


tal,  and  folds  in  the  middle  for  a  wheel-barrow  or  small 
animals  to  pass.    To  go  through  it,  a  person  simply  steps 


Fig.  262.— WICKET  WITH  HINGE. 


into  the  bow,  swings  the  gate  away  from  him,  and  swings 
it  back  in  passing  out.     There  is  no  latch  to  fasten,  and 


Fig.  263. — WICKET  WITH   UPRIGHT  BARS. 

no  fear  of  the  entry  of  live  stock.     Similar  wickets  may 
be  constructed  of  wood  for  board  fences. 


WOODEN   WICKETS. 


Figure  264  shows  a  wicket  gate  common  in  England, 
where  it  is  much  used  in  foot-paths  across  fields,  etc.     It 


166 


FEXCES,    GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 


is  an  ordinary  small  gate,  which  swings  between  two 
posts,  set  far  enough  apart  to  permit  the  passage  of  a 
person.  These  two  posts  are  thevtwo  ends  of  a  V-shaped 


Fig.  264.— A  GATE  FOR  FOOT-PATH. 

end  in  the  fence.  The  engraving  shows  the  construction 
of  the  end  of  the  fence,  with  the  two  posts,  between 
which  the  gate  swings. 

Figure  265  is  another  form  of  gate,  which  consists  of  a 
V-shaped  panel,  filling  the  opening  in  the  fence — the  open 


Figs.  265  and  266. — COMMON  A?TD  IMPROVED  WICKETS. 

ends  of  the  V  being  fixed  to  posts  equally  distant  from 
and  in  a  line  with  one  of  the  posts  in  the  fence,  and  at 
right  angles  to  it,  This  is  improved  by  using  bent 


WICKETS   AND    STILES.  167 

wheel-rims,  figure  266,  instead  of  the  straight  pieces  form- 
ing the  V-shaped  panel.  Kept  well  painted,  the  hickory 
rims  will  bear  the  exposure  to  the  weather  perfectly.  The 
palings  should  be  of  oak,  an  inch  wide  and  half  an  inch 
thick,  fastened  on  with  screws.  The  opening  in  these 
stiles  must  be  sufficient  to  allow  a  corpulent  person  to 
pass  easily,  even  if  a  frisky  bull  is  in  uncomfortable  prox- 

ft 


Fig.  367. — A    CONVENIENT    STILE. 

imity,  and  for  this  figure  266  is  really  the  most  conven- 
ient form.  The  objection  to  both  of  these  stiles  is,  that 
there  is  no  actual  closing  of  the  passage.-  Calves,  sheep 
and  pigs,  not  to  mention  dogs,  work  their  way  through. 
To  prevent  this,  the  gate-stile,  figure  267,  was  invented. 
It  has  a  small  gate  swinging  on  the  middle  post,  but 
stopped  in  its  movement  by  the  end  posts  of  the  V.  A 


Fig.  268. — A  GATE  STILE. 

person  can  pass  by  stepping  well  into  the  V  and  moving 
the  gate  by  him,  where  he  has  free  exit.  This  form  is 
efficient,  but  inconvenient.  A'  fourth  form,  the  best  of 
all,  is  the  swinging  A-stile,  figures  268  and  269.  In  this 
there  are  two  light  gates,  made  upon  the  same  hinge- 
post,  spreading  like  the  letter  A,  and  braced  with  a  cross- 
piece  between  the  rails  of  each  side,  like  the  center  part 


1G8 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


of  the  A.  This  gate  is  set  to  swing  on  each  side  of  the 
center-post,  as  shown.  It  is  so  much  narrower  than  the 
V-stiles,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  small  animals  to 
pass,  but  it  is  easily  hung  so  that  it  will  always  remain 


Fig.  269. — SWINGING  STILE. 

closed,  and  so  offer  no  temptation  to  animals. on  the  out- 
side. At  night,  or  when  not  in  use,  a  wire  ring  or  withe- 
hoop  thrown  over  the  top  of  the  post  and  the  upright 
part  of  the  gate  frame,  will  securely  fasten  it.  To  make 


Fig.  270. — A  NEAT   GATE. 

the  gate  swing  shut,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  set  the  eye 
of  the  lower  hinge  of  the  gate  well  out  towards  the  out- 
side. In  figure  270  we  give  a  neat  A-gate,  made  of  pine 
or  any  strong  and  light  wood. 


STILES  FOR  WIRE-FENCES. 

The  extensive  use  of  wire-fences  calls  for  a  farm  conve- 
nience, heretofore  but  little  known  in  this  country — the 


WICKETS    AND    STILES.  169 

stile.  The  manner  of  constructing  one  suitable  for  barb- 
wire  fence  is  shown  so  plainly  in  the  engraving,  figure  271, 
that  no  description  is  necessary.  The  cross  piece,  upon 


Fig.  271. — STILE  FOR  BARB  WIRE  FENCE. 

which  one  passes  from  one  flight  of  steps  to  the  other, 
may  be  of  any  desired  width. 

Stiles  of  convenient  forms  for  wire  fences  are  shown  in 


Fig.  272. — FENCE  STLLE.  Fig.  273. — ANOTHER  STILE. 

figures  272  and  273.  The  one  seen  in  figure  272  takes 
less  space  on  each  side  of  the  fence,  but  it  is  not  so  sim- 
ple as  that  shown  in  figure  273. 

Figure  274  shows  a  passageway  in  a  wire  fence,  which 


170 


FENCES,  GATES   AND    BRIDGES. 


requires  no  climbing,  and  while  it  presents  an  effectual 
barrier  to  large  animals,  is  readily  passed  by  any  but  very 


^  AWW 

Fig.  274. — WISE  FEXCE  PASSAGE. 

corpulent  persons.  It  originated  and  was  patented  in 
England,  but  we  believe  there  is  no  restriction  on  its 
construction  and  use  in  this  country. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

FENCE  LAW. 
FENCING  OUT  OB  FENCING  IN. 

The  common  law  of  England,  which  to  a  large  extent 
became  the  law  of  the  original  States,  bound  no  one 
to  fence  his  land  at  all.  Every  person  is  bound  under 
that  law  to  fence  his  own  cattle  in,  but  not  bound  to 
fence  other  cattle  out.  Every  owner  of  domestic  animals 
is  liable  for  injury  committed  by  them  on  the  lands  of 
others,  even  though  the  land  was  wholly  unfenced.  But 
this  feature  of  the  English  common  law  was  not  suited 


FENCE    LAW.  171 

to  the  conditions  which  surrounded  the  early  settlers  in 
,  any  part  of  this  country.  So  long  as  any  region  is 
sparsely  settled,  the  amount  of  unoccupied  land  is  so 
much  greater  than  the  occupied,  that  it  is  cheaper  to 
fence  stock  out,  than  to  fence  it  in.  Hence  the  English 
common  law  in  regard  to  fencing  has  been  superseded  by 
statute  in  many  of  the  States.  In  others  it  has  always 
remained  in  force,  or  has  been  revived  by  later  statutes. 
There  is  such  great  diversity  on  this  point  in  the  statutes 
of  the  several  States,  that,  to  quote  from  Henry  A. 
Haigh's  excellent  "  Manual  of  Farm  Law,  "  "  every  one 
having  occasion  to  look  up  any  point  of  law,  should  as- 
certain the  statutory  provisions  concerning  it  from  some 
official  source.  Do  not  depend  upon  this  book  or  any 
other  book  for  them,  because  they  are  liable  to  change, 
and  do  change  from  year  to  year  ;  but  go  to  your  town 
clerk  or  justice  of  the  peace,  and  examine  the  statutes 
themselves. "  » 

DIVISION  FENCES. 

The  legal  obligations  of  adjoining  owners  to  build  and 
maintain  division  fences,  rests  entirely  upon  the  statutes 
of  the  respective  States,  save  in  cases  where  long  usage 
has  created  prescriptive  rights,  or  special  agreement  ex- 
ists. Such  fences  are  to  be  built  on  the  boundary  line, 
the  expense  to  be  borne  equally  by  the  parties,  or  each 
one  shall  make  and  maintain  half  the  fence.  If  they 
cannot  agree,  or  either  refuses  or  neglects  to  do  his  share, 
the  statutes  provide  methods  by  which  the  matter  may 
be  determined.  In  some  of  the  States,  two  or  more  pub- 
lic officers,  called  fence- viewers,  are  elected  annually  in 
each  township,  whose  duties,  as  prescribed  by  statute, 
are,  when  called  upon,  to  hear  and  decide  questions  re- 
lating to  fences  .in  their  respective  towns.  In  other 
States,  these  duties  are  performed  by  overseers  of  high- 
ways or  selectmen,  ex-ojftcio.  '  Whenever  any  owner  or 


172  FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

occupant  of  land  refuses  to  build  or  maintain  half  the  di- 
vision fence,  or  cannot  agree,  with  his  adjoining  neighbor 
as  to  which  portion  they  shall  respectively  maintain,  the 
fence-viewer  may  be  called.  Upon  being  so  called,  the 
fence-viewer  shall  upon  reasonable  notice,  and  after 
viewing  the  premises,  determine  and  assign  the  respective 
portions  of  the  fence  to  be  maintained  by  each.  The  as- 
signment when  so  made  and  recorded  by  the  proper  of- 
ficer, becomes  binding  upon  the  present  and  all  subse- 
quent owners  of  the  land.  (2  Wis.  14).  When  by  rea- 
son of  a  brook,  watercourse,  or  natural  impediment,  it  is 
impracticable  or  unreasonably  expensive  to  build  a  fence 
on  the  true  line  between  adjacent  lands,  and  the  owners 
thereof  disagree  respecting  its  position,  the  fence  viewers 
may,  upon  application  of  either  party,  determine  on 
which  side  of  the  true  line,  or  whether  partly  on  one 
side  and  partly  on  the  other,  and  at  what  distances,  the 
fence  shall  be  built  and  maintained,  and  what  portions 
by  either  party,  and  if  either  party  refuses  or  neglects  to 
build  and  maintain  his  part  of  the  fence,  the  other  shall 
have  the  same  remedy  as  if  the  fence  were  on  the  true 
line.  When  a  division  fence  shall  be  suddenly  destroyed 
or  prostrated  by  fire,  winds  or  floods,  the  person  who 
ought  to  repair  or  rebuild  the  same  should  do  so  in  ten 
days  after  being  notified  for  that  purpose,  and  in  the 
meantime  he  will  be  liable  for  damages  d.one  by  estrays. 
There  is  no  legal  obligation  in  any  of  the  States,  upon 
any  proprietor  of  uncultivated,  unimproved  and  un- 
occupied land,  to  keep  up  division  fences.  When  a  pro- 
prietor improves  his  land,  or  encloses  land  already  im- 
proved, the  land  adjoining  being  unimproved,  he  must 
make  the  whole  division  fence,  and  if  the  adjoining  pro- 
prietor afterward  improves  his  land,  he  is  required  to 
pay  for  one  half  the  division  fence,  according  to  the  value 
thereof  at  that  time.  The  laws  of  the  respective  States 
are  not  uniform  touching  the  obligations  to  maintain  one 


FEXCE  LAW.  173 

half  a  division  fence  after  the  owner  of  the  land  ceases  to 
improve  tt.  In  Rhode  Island  and  some  other  States,  the 
proprietors  are  required  to  maintain  these  respective  pro- 
portions, whether  they  continue  to  improve  their  land  or 
not.  In  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont  and  several 
other  States,  it  is  provided  that  if  one  party  lays  his 
lands  common,  and  determines  not  to  improve  them,  he 
may,  upon  giving  due  notice,  cease  to  support  such 
fences.  But  in  most  of  the  States,  he  must  not  take 
away  any  part  of  the  division  fence  belonging  to  him  and 
adjoining  the  next  enclosure,  provided  the  other  party 
will  allow  and  pay  for  his  part  of  such  fence.  If  the 
parties  cannot  agree  as  to  its  value,  it  may  be  decided 
by  two  or  more  fence-viewers.  "Where  adjacent  land  is 
owned  in  severalty  and  occupied  in  common,  and  either 
party  desires  to  occupy  his  in  severalty,  and  the  parties 
disagree,  either  party  may  have  the  line  divided  by  the 
fence-viewers,  as  in  other  cases. 

Owners  of  adjoining  lands  may  agree  between  them- 
selves as  to  the  building  and  maintenance  of  division 
fences,  and  such  agreements  are  valid,  whether  they  are 
in  accordance  with  the  law  or  not.  In  some  States  such 
an  agreement,  if  in  writing,  and  filed  with  the  clerk  of 
the  township,  becomes  binding  upon  all  subsequent  hold- 
ers of  the  land.  If  not  in  writing,  however,  such  an 
agreement  may  be  terminated  by  either  of  the  parties  at 
pleasure. 

HIGHWAY  FENCES. 

Under  the  common  law,  the  land  owner  is  under  no 
obligation  to  fence  his  land  along  a  public  highway. 
Bnt  in  Missouri,  Iowa,  Illinois,  Oregon,  and  some  other 
Western  and  Southern  States,  the  common  law  rule  has 
been  modified  by  statutes  depriving  the  land-holder  of 
his  action  for  trespass,  unless  he  maintains  sufficient 
fences  around  his  land.  In  these  States,  the  owner  of 


174  FENCES,    GATES   AKD   BEIDGES. 

land  must  enclose  it  with  sufficient  fences  if  he  would 
cultivate  it.  Even  where  there  is  no  such  statutory  pro- 
visions, it  is  practically  necessary  to  maintain  highway 
fences,  as  a  protection  against  cattle  which  are  driven 
along  the  highway.  The  use  of  barb  wire  for  fencing 
along  the  public  roads  has  given  rise  to  questions  for 
which  there  were  no  precedents.  A  case  was  decided  in 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  at  "Watertown,  Xew 
York,  December  17,  1885.  The  action  was  brought  by 
a  horse  breeder  to  recover  damages  from  his  neighbor  for 
injuries  sustained  by  the  plaintiff's  horse  from  a  barbed 
wire  fence,  stretched  along  the  roadside  in  front  of  the 
defendant's  premises.  A  non-suit  was  granted  on  the 
ground  that  the  animal  received  the  injuries  through  the 
contributory  negligence  of  its  owner.  Among  the  rul- 
ings of  the  court  was  one  permitting  the  plaintiff  to  be 
questioned,  to  show  the  fact  that  he  had  on  his  own  farm 
a  similar  fence,  but  of  sharper  form  of  barb.  The  court 
further  held  that  it  might  be  a  question  whether  it 
would  not  be  competent  testimony  to  show  the  common 
employment  of  barb  wire  fence  in  that  region,  and  held 
that  for  the  purpose  of  this  case,  a  barbed  wire  fence,  if 
properly  constructed  upon  the  highway,  must  be  deemed 
a  legal  fence. 

It  may  be  said  in  a  general  way,  that  though  there  is 
no  legal  obligation  resting  on  the  land  holder  to  maintain 
fences  along  the  public  highway,  he  neglects  to  do  so  at 
his  own  risk  and  peril. 

WHAT  IS  A   LEGAL  FENCE  ? 

What  shall  be  necessary  to  constitute  a  legal  and  suf- 
ficient fence  is  specifically  defined  by  the  statutes  of  the 
several  States,  but  there  is  no  uniform  rule  among  all. 
In  Elaine,  K"ew  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  and  many 
other  States,  it  is  provided  that  all,  fences  four  feet  high, 


FEXCE   LAW.  175 

and  in  good  repair,  consisting  of  rails,  timber,  boards,  or 
etone  wall,  and  all  brooks,  riv.ers,'  ponds,  creeks,  ditches, 
hedges,  and  other  things  deemed  by  the  fence  viewers  to 
be  equivalent  thereto,  shall  be  accounted  legal  and  suffi- 
cient fences.  In  Vermont,  Connecticut,  Michigan,  and 
some  other  States,  a  legal  fence  must  be  four  and  a  half 
feet  high.  In  Missouri  post  fences  must  be  four  and  one 
half  feet  high,  hedges  four  feet  high,  turf  fences  four 
feet  high,  with  ditches  on  each  side  three  feet  deep  in  the 
middle  and  three  feet  wide ;  worm  fences  must  be  five 
and  one-half  feet  high  to  the  top  of  the  rider,  or  if  not 
ridered,  five  feet  to  the  top  of  the  top  rail,  and  must  be 
rocked  with  strong  rails,  poles  or  stakes  ;  stone  or  brick 
fences  must  be  four  and  one-half  feet  high.  In  New 
York  the  electors  of  each  town  may,  by  vote,  decide  for 
themselves  how  fences  shall  be  made,  and  what  shall  be 
deemed  sufficient.  No  part  of  the  fence  law  is  so  defi- 
nitely regulated  by  the  statutes  of  the  respective  States  as 
the  requirements  of  a  legal  fence.  In  all  cases  where 
practical  questions  arise  involving  this  point,  it  is  best  to 
consult  the  statutes,  which  will  be  found  in  the  office  of 
the  township  clerk. 

KAILROAD   FENCES. 

In  nearly  every  State,  railroad  companies  are  required 
by  statute  to  construct  and  maintain  legal  and  sufficient 
fences  on  both  sides  of  their  roads,  except  at  crossings  of 
public  highways,  in  front  of  mills,  depots,  and  other 
places  where  the  public  convenience  requires  that  they 
shall  be  left  open.  The  legal  obligations  of  railroad  com- 
panies to  fence  their  roads  rest  wholly  upon  such  statutes. 
In  New  Hampshire  it  is  provided  that  if  any  railroad 
company  shall  neglect  to  maintain  such  fences,  the  owner 
of  adjoining  land  may  build  them,  and  recover  double  the 
cost  thereof  of  the  company.  It  is  generally  held  by  the 
courts  in  all  the  States  that,  in  the  absence  of  such  fences 


176  l-ESCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 

the  railroad  company  is  liable  for  all  resulting  damage  to 
live  stock,  and  no  proof  of  contributory  negligence  on  the 
part  of  the  owner  of  live  stock  is  allowed  as  a  plea  in  de- 
fence, the  statute  requiring  such  fences  being  a  police 
regulation.  When  the  railroad  company  has  built  a  suffi- 
cient fence  on  both  sides  of  its  road,  it  is  not  liable  for 
injuries  which  may  occur  without  negligence  on  its  part. 
If  the  fence  is  overthrown  by  wind  or  storms,  the  com- 
pany is  entitled  to  reasonable  time  in  which  to  repair  it, 
and  if  cattle  enter  and  are  injured,  without  fault  on  the 
company's  part,  it  is  not  liable.  If  cattle  stray  upon  the 
track  at  a  crossing  of  a  public  road,  and  are  killed,  the 
owners  cannot  recover  damages,  unless  the  railroad  com- 
pany is  guilty  of  gross  negligence  or,  intentional  wrong. 
A  law  in  Alabama  making  railroad  companies  absolutely 
liable  for  all  stock  killed  on  the  tracks,  was  held  to  be 
uncon  sti  tutional. 


CHAPTEE    XIV. 

COUNTRY  BRIDGES  AND  CULVERTS. 
STRENGTH  OF  BRIDGES. 

Bridge  building  is  a  profession  of  itself,  and  some  of  the 
great  bridges  of  the  world  are  justly  regarded  as  among 
the  highest  achievements  of  mechanical  science  and  skill. 
But  it  is  proposed  to  speak  in  this  work  only  of  the  cheap 
and  simple  structures  for  spanning  small  streams.  The 
measure  of  the  strength  of  a  bridge  is  that  of  its  weakest 
part.  Hence,  the  strength  of  a  plain  wooden  bridge 
resting  upon  timber  stringers  or  chords,  is  equivalent  to 


COUXTRY  BRIDGES   AND   CULVERTS, 


177 


the  sustaining  power  of  the  timbers  in  the  middle  of  the 
span.  The  longer  the  span,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  less  its  strength.  The  following  table  shows  the  sus- 
taining power  of  sound  spruce  timber,  of  the  dimensions 
given,  at  a  point  midway  between  the  supports: 


LENGTH 
OF  SPAN. 

WIDTH  AND  THICKNESS  OP  TIMBEB. 

6  by  8  inches.   6  by  9  inches. 

6  by  10  inches. 

6  by  12  inches. 

Feet. 

Pounds.            Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

10 

2,800 

2,692 

4,500 

6,480 

12 

2,400 

3,042 

3,750 

5,400 

14 

2,058 

2",604 

3,216 

4,632 

16 

1,800 

2,280 

2,808 

4,050 

A  stick  of  timber  twenty  feet  between  supports,  will 
bear  a  load  in  its  center  only  one  half  as  great  as  a  timber 
of  the  same  dimensions,  ten  feet  between  supports.  Thus 
four  timbers  six  by  twelve  inches,  in  a  span  of  sixteen 
feet,  would  bear  a  load  of  eight  tons ;  in  a  twelve  foot 
span,  the  same  timbers  would  support  a  weight  of  nearly 
twelve  tons. 


BRACES  AND  TRUSSES. 

The  above  is  the  initial  strength  of  the  timbers  which 
support  the  weight  of  the  superstructure,  and  any  load 
that  it  may  have  to  sustain.  But  in  bridge  building 
these  timbers  are  reinforced  by  trusses  or  braces,  which 
add  greatly  to  the  sustaining  power  of  the  bridge. 

Figure  275  shows  the  simplest  form  of  a  self-support- 
ing bridge,  which  will  answer  for  spans  of  from  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  in  length.  The  braces,  c,  c,  reach  from  near 


178 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


the  end  of  the  sill  to  about  four  feet  above  the  center. 
The  truss  rod,  d,  is  one  inch  in  diameter  for  short  bridges 


Fig.  275. — A  SIMPLE   FORM   OF  BRIDGE  SPAN. 

up  to  two  inches  for  longer  spans;  it  is  provided  with  an 
iron  washer  at  the  top.     The  rod  passes  through  the  sill, 


Fig.  276.— A  STRONGER   SPAN. 

and  a  cross  sill,  e,  which  passes  under  the  main  sills,  thus 
adding  firmness  to  the  whole  structure.     Logs,  /,  /,  are 


Fig.  277. — A   SHORT  BRIDGE. 

placed  against  the  ends  of  the  sills  to  keep  them  in  place, 
and  where  the  wheels  will  first  strike  them  instead  of  the 


COUNTRY  BRIDGES   AND   CULVERTS. 


179 


floor  plank,  thus  greatly  equalizing  the  pressure.  Figure 
276  represents  a  modification  of  the  above.  The  two 
trass  rods  and  braces  give  the  structure  greater  strength 
and  solidity,  adapting  it  for  spans  eighteen  feet  in 
length.  For  the  latter  length,  sills  should  be  of  good 


Fig.  278.— A  BOLT  TBCSS. 

material,  ten  inches  wide  and  fourteen  inches  deep,  with 
three  middle  sills  of  about  the  same  size. 

Figure  277  is  a  more  improved  style  of  bridge,  the  truss 
serving  both  to  support  the  structure,  and  as  a  parapet. 
The  top  railing  is  of  the  same  width  as  the  sill,  about 
one  foot.  The  lower  side  may  be  cut  away,  giving  the 
bridge  a  more  finished  appearance.  The  railing  at  the 
center  is  six  inches  thick,  and  three  inches  at  the  ends. 
The  tie,  li,  is  full  width  and  four  inches  thick.  A  bridge 
of  this  kind  will  answer  for  heavy  traffic,  even  if  twenty 


Fig.  279 — BRIDGE  BRACED  FROM  BELOW. 

feet  in  length.  The  bolt  truss,  in  figure  278,  is  adapted 
for  a  span  of  twenty-five  feet.  This  makes  a  bridge  of 
great  firmness.  Each  set  of  truss-rods  support  a  cross- 
sill.  The  road  planks  are  laid  crosswise  of  the  bridge. 
The  middle  sills  are  sometimes  half  an  inch  lower  than 


180 


FENCES,    GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 


those  along  the  sides,  and  should  be  foar  or  five  in  num- 
ber. The  ends  of  the  planks  fit  closely  against  the  in- 
side of  the  truss  sills,  thereby  keeping  the  planks  securely 
iu  place. 

A  common  method  of  bracing  is  from  below  as  shown  in 
figure  279.  'This  is  not  usually  a  good  practice,  as  the 
braces  are  liable  to  be  earned  away  by  ice  or  floods. 


ABUTMENTS,    PIERS    AND   RAILINGS. 

If  the  sills  of  a  bridge  are  laid  directly  upon  the  dry 
walls  of  an  abutment,  or  upon  a  heavy  plank,  the  jar  of 
passing  teams  soon  displaces  some  of  the  stones,  and 
brings  undue  strain  upon  certain  portions  of  the  wall. 


Fig.  280. — BSD  OF  A  BRIDGE. 

To  avoid  this,  abutments  are  best  made  of  cut  stones, 
and  laid  in  cement.  A  wooden  bent  for  the  support  of 
the  ends  of  the  bridge  may  be  made  as  shown  in  figure 
280.  The  whole  should  be  constructed  of  heavy  timber, 
pinned  together.  A  coat  of  white  lead  should  cover  the 
interior  surface  of  all  joints.  The  number  and  position 
of  the  posts  of  the  wooden  abutment  are  seen  in  the  en- 
graving. A  log  should  be  laid  upon  the  wall  at  m,  to  re- 


COUNTRY    BEIDGES    AND    CULVEKTS. 


181 


Fig.  281.— FKAMED   PIER. 


Fig.  382. — BRIDGE   SUPPORTED  BY  PILES. 


Fig.  283. 


RAILING   OF    BRIDGE. 


Fig.  284. 


lieve  the  bridge  from  the  shock  of  the  passing  wagons. 
A  center  pier  should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible, 
as  it  offers  serious  obstruction  in  floods,  and  ice,  drift 


182 


FENCES,    GATES    AND   BKIDGES. 


wood  and  other  floating  matter  become  piled  against  it, 
seriously  imperiling  the  entire  structure.  But  in  cases 
where  the  length  of  the  bridge  is  so  great  as  to  require 
one  or  more  piers,  they  may  be  constructed  on  the  plan 


Fig.  285.— PLANK  FLOOR   OF   BRIDGE. 

shown  in  figure  281,  or  in  case  the  bottom  is  so  soft  as  to 
render  the  mudsill  insecure,  a  line  of  piles  supporting  a 
cross-timber,  as  in  figure  282.  A  strong,  reliable  para- 
pet or  railing  should  always  be  provided.  The  want  of 
one  may  be  the  cause  of  fatal  accidents  to  persons  and 
horses.  Figure  283  gives  a  side  view  of  a  good  railing, 
and  figure  284  shows  the  manner  of  bracing  the  posts  to 
the  ends  of  the  cross-beams.  They  should  be  thus  braced 
at  every  alternate  post  of  the  railing.  The  floor  should 
be  double,  as  shown  in  figure  285,  the  lower  planks  laid 
diagonally,  and  the  upper  layer  crosswise. 


BEIDGES  FOE  GULLIES. 

For  small  gullies  which  cross  roadways  or  lanes  in 
farms,  and  are  not  the  beds  of  constant  streams,  but  are 
occasionally  filled  with  surface  water,  a  very  simple  bridge 
is  sufficient.  One  like  that  shown  in  figure  286  is  as 
good  as  any.  The  sills,  a,  a,  are  sunk  in  a  trench  dug 
against  the  bank  and  at  least  to  the  level  of  the  bed  of 
the  creek.  The  cross-sills,  I,  b,  are  not  mortised  into 
them,  but  simply  laid  between  them.  The  pressure  is 


COUNTRY    BRIDGES    AXD   CULVERTS. 


183 


all  from  the  outside,  hence  it  will  force  a,  a,  tighter 
against  the  ends  b,  b,  which  must  be  sunk  a  little  into  the 
bed  of  the  creek  at  its  lowest  point.  The  posts  are  mor- 
tised into  the  sills,  a,  a,  and  plates,  c,  c,  and  d,  d,  upon 


Fig.  286. — FRAME  FOR  BRIDGE. 

which  the  planks  are  laid.  Props  may  be  put  against  the 
lower  sides  of  the  posts  to  hold  the  bridge  against  the 
stream. 

A  cheap  but  practicable  bridge  is  shown  in  figure  287. 
Two  logs  are  laid  across  the  gully,  their  ends  resting  on 
the  banks,  and  to  them  puncheons  or  planks  are  spiked 
to  form  the  bridge.  Stout  posts,  well  propped  and  reach- 
ing above  the  highest  water  mark,  are  placed  against  the 
lower  side  of  the  logs.  If  the  creek  rises,  the  bridge, 


Fig.  387.— CONVENIENT   FARM   BRIDGE. 

being  free,  will  be  raised  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
while  the  posts  will  prevent  its  being  carried  away. 
Should  it  not  rise  with  the  water,  it -opposes  so  little  sur- 
face to  the  current  that  the  posts  will  hold  it  fast. 


184 


FENCES,  GATES   AND   BRIDGES. 
ORNAMENTAL  BRIDGES. 


No  feature  adds  more  to  the  appearance  of  ornamental 
grounds  than  tasteful  bridges.  A  .stream  or  narrow 
channel  connecting  two  parts  of  a  small  sheet  of  water, 
affords  an  opportunity  for  the  introduction  of  a  bridge. 


Fig,  288. — RUSTIC  BBIBGB, 

In  the  absence  of  such  features  a  bridge  may  be  thrown 
across  -a  dry  ravine.  Whatever  style  may  be  adopted, 
should  harmonize  with  the  general  character  of  the  sur- 
roundings. An  elaborate  bridge  of  woo.d  or  masonry 
would  be  as  much  out  of  place  on  grounds  unadorned  by 
other  structures,  as  a  rude  rustic  one  would  be  near  highly 


BEIDGE  OF  BOCKS. 


finished  summer-houses  and  other  architectural  features. 
On  most  grounds  a  neat  rustic  bridge,  something  like  the 
one  shown  in  figure  288,  would  be  in  good  keeping  with 
its  environments.  Such  bridges  may  be  made  of  red 


COUNTRY    BKIDGES   AND   CULVERTS.  185 

cedar  logs  and  branches,  resting  upon  stone  abutments. 
Where  boulders  are  abundant,  a  stone  bridge,  something 
like  figure  289,  may  be  built  at  very  little  cost,  and  will 
last  for  generations.  The  pleasing  effect  of  rustic  or 
other  ornamental  bridges  is  enhanced  by  training  Vir- 
ginia creeper  or  other  climbing  plants  upon  them. 


ROAD   CULVERTS. 

A  culvert  under  a  road  is,  in  effect,  a  short  bridge. 
The  simplest  form  of  plank  culvert,  resting  upon  stone 
abutments,  is  shown  in  figure  290.  Such  a  structure  is 
cheaply  built,  and  serves  a  good  purpose  while  the  wood- 
work remains  sound.  But  the  planks  wear  out  and  the 
timbers  decay,  requiring  frequent  renewing.  Where 
stone  is  abundant  it  is  much  cheaper  in  the  end  to  build 
wholly  of  stone,  as  in  figure  291.  After  the  'abutments 


Fig.  290.— CULVERT  WITH  PLANK  FLOOB. 

are  built,  a  course  of  flat  stone,  along  each  side,  projects 
inward  from  six  to  ten  inches,  as  at  a,  a,  which  are  covered 
with  a  broad  stone,  b.  Where  the  stream  to  be  crossed  is 
so  narrow  that  a  row  of  single  stones  is  sufficient  to  cover 
the  opening,  a  culvert  like  that  seen  in  figure  292  is 
cheaply  made.  Such  structures  will  remain  serviceable 
for  a  generation,  if  the  foiindations  are  not  undermined 
by  the  action  of  the  water. 


186 


FENCES,    GATES  AND   BRIDGES. 


Where  flat  stones  enough  cannot  be  easily  procured, 
culverts  may  be  built  of  concrete.  The  abutments  are 
first  made,  as  in  other  cases ;  then  empty  barrels  or  sugar 


Fig.  291.— STONE   CULVERT. 

hogsheads,  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  opening,  are 
fitted  in,  or  better  still,  a  temporary  arch  is  made  of 
rough,  narrow  boards.  The  concrete  of  cement,  sand 


Fig.  292.— CHEAPER   STONE   CULVERT. 

and  gravel,  is  then  prepared  and  poured  in,  temporary 
supports  of  lumber  having  been  fixed  across  each  end  of 
the  culvert  to  keep  the  concrete  in  place  until  it  hardens. 


COUNTRY    BRIDGES   AXD    CULVERTS.  187 

Small  stones  may  be  mixed  with  the  concrete  as  it  is 
poured  into  place,  and  the  whole  topped  off  with  a  row 
of  them.  This  protection  of  stones  on  the  top  is  valu- 
able, in  case  the  covering  of  earth  is  worn  or  wasted  away 


Fig.  293. — ARCHED  CONCRETE  CULVERT. 

at  any  time  while  it  is  in  use.  For  a  longer  culvert  a 
flattened  arch  is  made  of  concrete,  as  shown  in  figure 
293.  Light  timbers  are  laid  across,  the  ends  resting 
lightly  on  the  abutments.  Across  the  middle  of  these  a 
round  log  is  placed  to  support  the  crown  of  the  arch. 
Elastic  split  poles  are  sprung  over  all,  and  upon  these  are 


Fig.  294. — ANGULAR  CONCRETE  CULVERT. 

nailed  thin  narrow  boards,  extending  lengthwise  of  the 
culvert.  The  ends  being  temporarily  protected,  the  con- 
crete is  mixed  and  poured  on,  as  before.  As  soon  as  the 
concrete  has  become  thoroughly  well  "  set,"  the  light 


188  FENCES,    GATES  AND  BRIDGES. 

cross-sticks  are  cut  in  two  and  the  temporary  work  re- 
moved. A  cross-section,  showing  another  form  of  con- 
crete culvert,  and  the  method  of  construction,  are  shown 
in  figure  294.  Such  a  culvert  is  more  easily  built  than 
the  last,  but  is  not  as  strong.  The  best  and  most  dur- 
able culvert  is  of  stone,  with  a  regular  half-round  arch. 
Such  work  can  only  be  done  properly  by  a  regular  mason, 
-but  in  the  end  it  is  cheaper,  where  the  stone  can  be  ob- 
tained, than  any  kind  of  make-shift. 


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